The Tapestries, Old Windsor, Old Windsor, Windsor and Maidenhead

Summary

A tapestry factory and twelve joined workers cottages, built to the designs of Patrick James Byrne in 1881-1882 under the patronage of Prince Leopold and his wife Princess Helen. The factory ceased production in 1890 and the buildings were then converted to alms houses and subsequently to flats.

Description

MATERIALS & PLAN: the buildings are in a vernacular revival style, of red brick laid in Flemish bond with tile hanging at first floor level and a plain tiled roof and have applied timber decoration. The buildings form an open quadrangle facing west towards Straight Road and are of two storeys with the former factory hall at the centre of the eastern range. To either side of it are joined terraces of three cottages, and facing the road are further terraces of three cottages to either side of the quadrangle. The central recessed range and projecting lateral wings with their tall garden walls are joined by angled, arched gateways.

EXTERIOR: the western, road front is symmetrical, with brickwork to the ground floor and tile hanging to the first floor. The factory hall is at the centre of the composition on the eastern side of the open quadrangle. This has three bays and a higher ridge than the lateral cottages. The central bay projects slightly and has a central doorway with Tudor arched head and stone surround. The original double doors have been removed. Above is a window of seven mullioned lights. The timber-framed gable above this bay has a coved jetty. At either side of this central bay are small, single-light windows which appear to have been inserted at the time that the hall was converted to accommodation in 1980. The bays to either side of this were originally lit by canted bay windows with mullions and transoms which extended through the height of the building, but these have since been replaced by windows which have tiled panels between the inserted floors. At the centre of the ridge above the hall is a clock turret with a circular clock face, clapboard walling and a domed, octagonal bell cote with a weather vane for its finial.

The groups of three cottages at either side are similar. The central cottage has a projecting gabled bay with a four-light window at ground-floor level, a jettied first floor and jettied gable with applied timber framing. At either side the cottages have a similar four-light ground-floor window with two, two-light windows to the first floor.

Joined to the central range are the two groups of three cottages whose flanks and high garden walls face the courtyard and whose fronts face the road. These have, to their courtyard faces, square bays with four lights at ground floor level, flanked by a two-bay veranda. At the first-floor level of each is a balcony with splat balusters and turned posts which support a jettied gable with applied timber framing. The street fronts have gabled bays at right and left with canted bay windows and jettied, framed gables. Wide porches, giving entrance to two houses have Tudor arches and each range has a single-storey angled bay with hipped roof. Terracotta plaques on the two ranges record ‘Leopold Cottages’ on the northern group and ‘Helen Cottages’ to the southern group.

The rear faces of all of the cottages are simpler with plain brick walling and horned sash windows
The two angled arches which join the central range to those at the sides have Tudor arches and a stepped overthrow with central, square panel with moulded surround each of which bears the initials 'VRI' for Victoria Regina Imperatrix, and the date 'AD 1882'.
Ridge stacks survive to their full height across the building.

INTERIOR: the interior was not inspected. The central factory hall was originally one tall single storey space but was remodelled and divided to form eight flats in around 1980. Photographs show that the majority of original fittings have been removed, although at least one fire surround and some four-panel doors appear to be original.

History

The Old Windsor Tapestry Works were established in 1876 at Manor Lodge on the western side of Straight Road, pending the construction of the purpose-built facilities on the east side. The first manager of the works was a M Brignolas, a French emigre, who encouraged weavers from Aubusson and Flanders to come to England. Tapestries produced at this time were successfully exhibited to great acclaim at the Paris Exposition in 1878, winning the Gold Medal in competition with the long-established French and Flemish weavers at Aubusson, Gobelin and Arras. It is not clear if the idea of founding the factory came from Prince Leopold, Queen Victoria’s youngest son, or from M Brignolas, but Prince Leopold was the patron. A stained glass works next door at Manor Cottage was also established under royal patronage.

In 1878 Patrick James Byrne ARIBA (1840s to 1900) (with or without a partner) and Walter Fitzgerald Knox Lyon FRIBA (1844-94), had each drawn up a design for the Tapestry Hall and a perspective drawing of Lyon's factory hall was published in Building News for April 1878, together with a description of his proposed buildings (see SOURCES).

Despite this Byrne's design was chosen and an illustration in the Building News of January 1883 (see SOURCES) shows the completed complex and describes Byrne as the architect. Nonetheless, many usually reliable sources credit Lyon as architect, including Pevsner.

No other tapestry manufacturers existed in England at the time and the factory was initially successful. In 1880 Queen Victoria became Patron whereupon it became the 'Royal Windsor Tapestry Manufactory'. She apparently made several visits, taking guests, including members of other European royal families, from the Castle to observe the work. She also sent existing tapestries there for repair from Holyrood House and Inverary Castle. A number of outstanding tapestries were produced by the manufactory, notable panels depicting the 'Merry Wives of Windsor', and the 'Tales of King Arthur', designed by TW Hay, which won a gold medal at the Paris Exhibition of 1878. The artist and designer Herbert Bone, who joined the company in 1879, was one its principal designers.

The Tapestry Works employed in all about 100 workers, chiefly French tapisseurs who had come from Aubusson and the Gobelin works near Paris, as well as a number of English apprentices. The machinery used were eight basse-lisse looms, which by 1890 had grown in number to sixteen, together with one haute-lisse loom. Activities associated with the factory were spread across this part of Old Windsor, with the dyeing workshop located at the Lord Nelson pub, which also served as a school for the workers' children. Manor Lodge may also have continued to house some of the workshops and it is likely that the Tapestry Hall at the centre of Byrne's grouping was intended as a showroom as well as a workshop. Some of the activities at the factory including dyeing wool and tapestry repair were shown in the Illustrated London News of 29 April 1882 (see SOURCES).

Prince Leopold died at the age of thirty in 1884 and the Prince of Wales took over as patron, but withdrew his support later in the same year, when it became apparent that the factory was in poor health financially. It eventually closed in 1890.

The factory was offered for auction in 1904 and sold to the financier David Ricardo, whose son sold it to Frances George Knowles Foster in 1924. She founded a group of almshouses in the buildings and in 1950 her trustees passed the buildings to the National Benevolent Fund. In 1952 the Tapestry Hall was being used as a village hall. Between 1950 and 1975 as each of the Tapestry cottages fell vacant it was converted into two self-contained flats. In 1980 the Tapestry Hall was also converted to form eight flats and this caused the large windows on the west side of the hall to be replaced, including the removal of panels made at the adjacent stained glass factory. The society now plans to concentrate its activities in Bristol and has recently sold the buildings in Old Windsor.

In 1968 additional, detached houses were built at 1a – 1c and 25a – 25b Straight Road which extended the grouping. They do not form part of this assessment.

The roof of the original grouping was retiled in 2017.

Reasons for Listing

The Tapestries, Straight Road, Old Windsor is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:
* the buildings form an attractive group, designed by the architect Patrick Byrne for Prince Leopold and Princess Helen in an accomplished interpretation of a vernacular revival style;
* the group is an early and notable example of the use of this style for a group of industrial housing, which retains a high degree of its original external appearance, and which was later used at Bournville and Port Sunlight.

Historic interest:
* as an example of practical royal patronage and encouragement of art and industry in the later C19;
* as a very rare example of a purpose-built tapestry factory in C19 England.

Group value:
* with Sheelin Cottage and Upper Wycombe and Abbey Cottage and Vine Cottage, Straight Road, Old Windsor (all Grade II).

External Links

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