PROGRAMME OF FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Live talks take place at the University Women's Club in Mayfair, London. We stream some talks, usually from overseas speakers, via Zoom. Whenever possible, talks are recorded and made available to members via the Members' Area of the website.

We also organise trips and tours for members and their guests. These are advertised in the monthly members' newsletters.

Our next event

Wednesday, 18th March 2026

Rachel Midgely will talk on 'Embroidery highlights from the Gawthorpe Textiles Collection'

at the University Women’s Club. 18.00 for 18.30.

Embroidery highlights from the Gawthorpe Textiles Collection

The talk will begin with an introduction to Rachel Kay-Shuttleworth; the founder of the Gawthorpe Textiles Collection and will explore her reasons for collecting and who she collected from. Following this we will take a journey through some highlights of our embroidery collection from around the world and across several centuries; including minutely stitched Elizabethan embroidery, lustrous Chinese silk work and glittering goldwork from Persia.

Rachel Midgley is a dress and textile historian and Curator of the Gawthorpe Textiles Collection. Originally gaining a degree in Costume Design & Construction for theatre and screen she has since moved into the museums and heritage sector and has worked at Gawthorpe Textiles Collection for the last fifteen years; initially as Assistant Curator and now as Curator.

Members and their guests welcome. Please contact Dimity Spiller for information.

More dates for your diary

Wednesday April 15th 2026

Markus Voigt will be speaking to the Society on 'Central Asian Textiles: meaning and tradition'

Stuart Room, Caledonian Club, 9 Halkin Street, Belgravia, London SW1X 7DR. 18.00 for 18.30

Wednesday, 20th May 2026

Victoria Sluka: ‘One Knot at a Time: experiments in the small-scale analysis of knotted carpets ’ at the Stuart Room, Caledonian Club, 9 Halkin Street, Belgravia, London SW1X 7DR. 18.00 for 18.30

Society talks are normally held at the University Women's Club

in South Audley Square just behind the Dorchester Hotel. Talks start at 18.30.

Both Green Park and Hyde Park Corner tube stations are a short walk away. Free street parking

after 6.30pm (Tilney St, Stanhope Gate, Hill St, Waverton St, Curzon St, Chesterfield Gardens)

Guests are welcome to attend for £7 a single lecture. Students £5.

Membership of one year for all events from £30.

EVENTS IN DETAIL

Wednesday, May 20th 2026

Victoria Sluka's lecture is entitled: ‘One Knot at a Time: experiments in the small-scale analysis of knotted carpets' In this lecture, Victoria will briefly discuss two experiments devised over the course of her doctoral work. First, she applies methods used in geology and machining to extract aesthetic information from ceramic impressions of early textiles. Widespread study of textile impressions left in ceramics, plasters, or mud has provided a wealth of information about

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Wednesday, April 15th 2026

Markus Voigt will be speaking on 'Central Asian Textiles: meaning and tradition' Markus Voigt is an independent researcher in the carpet world and a well-respected dealer in the trade. He will talk about his recent work featured in the new book Central Asian Textiles - the Neville Kingston Collection where Markus makes a study of textile references and illustrations in contemporaneous literature to see if we can further understand the meaning and uses of these vibran

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Wednesday, 18th March 2026

Rachel Midgely will be talking to the Society on 'Embroidery highlights from the Gawthorpe Textiles Collection' Embroidery highlights from the Gawthorpe Textiles Collection The talk will begin with an introduction to Rachel Kay-Shuttleworth; the founder of the Gawthorpe Textiles Collection and will explore her reasons for collecting and who she collected from. Following this we will take a journey through some highlights of our embroidery collection from around the world an

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Wednesday, September 24th, 2025. Lecture by Anna-Louise Meynell on 'Tracing Transitions: Textile histories in the borderlands of Undivided Bengal and Northeast India.' Via Zoom. 1800.

This talk will explore tribal textiles of Meghalaya and Assam along the shifting borders with Undivided Bengal, until the creation of...

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Wednesday 15th January 2025 Mark Flinn: 'The Persian Carpet Man' University Women's Club 18.00 for 18.30.

Mark Flinn will talk about the remarkable career of his grandfather, Leonard Flinn. The Persian Carpet Man, 'Tajir', was...

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February 21st 2024: Lecture by Martin Conlan at 18.00 for 18.30

Tribal wedding blankets of South West China Wedding blankets are often intricately woven, embroidered or resist-dyed decorative panels...

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January 17th 2024: Lecture by Avalon Fotheringham at 18.00 for 18.30

Linen Day, Roseau, Dominica - A Market Scene, by Agostino Brunias, c.1780. Yale Centre for British Art. Connecting Threads: New...

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December 20th 2023: Lecture by Peter Lee at 18.00 via Zoom.

Changing hybrid fashions in 19th- and early 20th-century Singapore. Singapore might be a relatively new metropolis, but it inherited a...

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November 22nd 2023: Lecture by Stefan Ionescu at 18.00 via Zoom.

Tuduc or not Tuduc - that is the Question! Tuduc forgeries in European, American and Middle Oriental collections Half of the fun would go...

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September 20th 2023 at 18.00 for 19.00: Lecture by Dorothy Armstrong at the University Women's Club

Above left: Carpet fragment, wool, ‘vase’ weaving technique, 143cm x 141cm, attributed by May Beattie to Kirman, Iran, 17th century...

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June 15th 2022 at 19.00 BST: Lecture by Susan Conway

Lecture by Susan Conway: “Symbols of Love & Respect”: The Textile Collection of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand. Live at...

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April 13th 2022 at 18.00 BST: Lecture by Dr Walter Denny. Via Zoom.

Lecture by Dr Walter Denny: A Critical Look at the Long and Lively Story of Anatolian Carpet Scholarship Almost a half-century ago Dr...

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