A stitch in time tells such a sad tale
DISPLAY OF MURDERED QUILTER’S WORK IN STATELY HOME SHOW
Reporter THE tragic story of Joe the Quilter has taken a happier turn almost 200 years after his death.
Joe the Quilter - elderly widower Joseph Hedley - was killed in his cottage on the outskirts of Warden, near Hexham in Northumberland, in January 1826.
The murder of Joe, known for the quilts he crafted in his cottage, was never solved.
But now a replica of one of his quilts has gone on show at English Heritage’s Belsay Hall in Northumberland – a transition from humble cottage to stately home that Joe could never have envisaged.
It is among more than 100 quilts on display until May 21 at the hall.
The handmade quilts are made by groups from Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and Durham and in addition there are cushions, pictures and wall hangings.
Quilt-making thrived in the North East in the 19th Century, and the regional branch of the Quilters Guild now has 280 members.
Regional co-ordinator and Belsay exhibition organiser Helen Pringle, who lives in Cramlington, said: “Quilt making is now very popular . It is creative and people can make up their own designs, either traditional or modern.
“One of the joys of Belsay Hall is that it’s a blank canvas. The hall comes alive with the collection of beautiful quilts. We hope that visitors will see these works of art on display and be inspired to take up this wonderful hobby themselves.”
A junior section of quilt-makers meets monthly at Beamish Museum in County Durham.
Also on show are quilts made by the regional members as part of the Linus project UK - named after the Peanuts cartoon character Linus who always carries a comfort blanket. The project provides quilts for children in hospices, hospitals, premature baby units and women’s refuges.
The replica of Joseph Hedley’s quilt was made by Aidan and Margaret Nichol, from Whitley Bay, from an original held at Beamish Museum.
Only three wholecloth quilts, thought to be made by Joe, are known to have survived.
One each is housed at the Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle, Tullie House Museum Carlisle and Beamish.
The site of Joe’s cottage was the subject of an archaeological excavation by Beamish Museum and there are plans to reconstruct it in Georgian landscape at the museum.
The original cottage demolished in 1872 but the dig revealed what was left of the cottage’s walls, fireplace, flagstones from the floor, pottery, and a silver groat coin given as Maundy money to the poor.
Ten tonnes of material was removed from the site, will allow the re-creation of the cottage at Beamish.
The cottage project is being led by archaeologist and Remaking Beamish project officer John Castling.
He said: “Joe was well known for his talents at making quilts, some of which went abroad but we were astounded at how he must have made them in such a small cramped place as the cottage.”
“As archaeologists it’s extremely rare to be working on a site inhabited by a named individual about whom we know so much.
“It’s even more unusual that the individual isn’t a royal or a wealthy landowner. It gives us a poignant and tangible link to the day to day life of an ordinary working person in the early 19th Century.”
The quilt at Beamish was ordered from Joe in 1820 by the family who owned nearby Humshaugh Mill and was donated to the museum in the 1970s.