This single bed sheet is made of two widths of linen with a bobbin lace insertion joining them. Around the edges of the sheet are six sets of initials embroidered in pink silk, four of which bear dates ranging from 1786 to 1900. According to the note that accompanied this anonymous donation these initials refer to the individuals who were covered with the sheet when laid out after death. The last person for whom the sheet was used in this way was Sarah Blunt, née Staffurth who died in 1902. Research suggests that Sarah was born around 1827 and was married at St Ives in 1851.
The sheet was probably made nearly two hundred years before the earliest of these embroidered dates. The bobbin lace insertion relates closely to patterns which appear in a lace pattern book, the <i>Nüw Modelbuch</I>, which was published in 1561, and to lace bordering a German altar cloth in the V&A collection (4459-1858) which dates from 1590. Attached to the edges of the sheet are five linen tassels built up from button-hole stitch and French knots. Tassels of this kind are rarely found on sheets, making this example of particular interest.