The three hangings known as the Stoke Edith Hangings were formerly at Stoke Edith House in Herefordshire. The house was built by Paul Foley, Speaker of the House of Commons, demolishing the old house on the site and starting to build the new one in 1697. The house was completed by his son Thomas after his death in 1699. After a visit by the leading garden designer George London in 1692 the park and gardens were remodelled to his suggestion, and it is likely that pleasure grounds would have been laid out around the house in a series of formal compartments with geometric walks, flower-beds and fountains.(Evidence for these in a survey of 1766 as a prelude to new alterations). The gardens depicted in the hangings may reflect the appearance of the real gardens in the early 18th century.
The house was destroyed by fire in 1927. Prior to this the hangings hung in the green velvet bedroom, between the dado and the ceiling.
After the fire they were kept by the Foley family in London, and in 1947 lent to the National Trust for display at Montacute House. On the death of Thomas Foley in 1959 they were allocated to the Treasury in lieu of estate duty, and remained on display at Montacute.
The largest hanging came to the V&A for conservation in 1980 and was not returned as display conditions at Montacute were no longer suitable. Together with the other two hangings it was allocated to the V&A by the Dept of National Heritage on behalf of the Treasury Solicitor in November 1996.
This hanging was installed in the British Galleries in 2016 as a replacement for another in the set, T.568-1996, as part of a programme of rotations to preserve textiles from potential fading. In preparation for display it was surface cleaned, then sent to Royal Manufacturers De Wit, Belgium, for wet cleaning. It was then conserved in the V&A Textiles Conservation workshop and a supportive lining applied to the back.
ecrm:P3_has_note
The three hangings known as the Stoke Edith Hangings were formerly at Stoke Edith House in Herefordshire. The house was built by Paul Foley, Speaker of the House of Commons, demolishing the old house on the site and starting to build the new one in 1697. The house was completed by his son Thomas after his death in 1699. After a visit by the leading garden designer George London in 1692 the park and gardens were remodelled to his suggestion, and it is likely that pleasure grounds would have been laid out around the house in a series of formal compartments with geometric walks, flower-beds and fountains.(Evidence for these in a survey of 1766 as a prelude to new alterations). The gardens depicted in the hangings may reflect the appearance of the real gardens in the early 18th century.
The house was destroyed by fire in 1927. Prior to this the hangings hung in the green velvet bedroom, between the dado and the ceiling.
After the fire they were kept by the Foley family in London, and in 1947 lent to the National Trust for display at Montacute House. On the death of Thomas Foley in 1959 they were allocated to the Treasury in lieu of estate duty, and remained on display at Montacute.
The largest hanging came to the V&A for conservation in 1980 and was not returned as display conditions at Montacute were no longer suitable. Together with the other two hangings it was allocated to the V&A by the Dept of National Heritage on behalf of the Treasury Solicitor in November 1996.
This hanging was installed in the British Galleries in 2016 as a replacement for another in the set, T.568-1996, as part of a programme of rotations to preserve textiles from potential fading. In preparation for display it was surface cleaned, then sent to Royal Manufacturers De Wit, Belgium, for wet cleaning. It was then conserved in the V&A Textiles Conservation workshop and a supportive lining applied to the back.