The Middleton Accounts of 1525: #16

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts of Sir Henry Willoughby in 1525 was undated except for being under the heading of July. It was described as a payment for gold for Mistress Alice to use to work in the stole. The cost was 2 shillings, which was the equivalent of about £44.13 today.

“Mistress Alice” was the youngest child of Sir Henry Willoughby and her name appears many times in the Middleton accounts. Her mother was Sir Henry’s third wife Ellen Egerton. Although Alice’s exact date of birth is unknown, it is unlikely that she was born before 1511 because her father married her mother in 1509 and she had an elder brother (Sir Hugh Willoughby “the Navigator”). In 1523, Alice was married to Richard Draycott of Painsley Hall, Draycott in the Moors, Staffordshire. The accounts indicate that, probably due to her young age, she remained in her father’s household after her marriage. It is known that Alice and Richard had at least six children, namely Henry, Edmund, George, Philip, Anne, and Mary and that Richard died in 1544.

The gold was purchased in order for Alice to undertake goldwork or more specifically gold embroidery on a stole. A stole most commonly refers to the liturgical vestment worn by the clergy. However, before it was adopted by the Church, it was simply a shawl worn by women. As to which version of a stole Alice was embroidering, we cannot be certain.

15th century Opus Anglicanum (chasuble), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Goldwork does not form cloth of gold because in that the gold threads are woven within the fabric itself. In the case of goldwork, it is a form of surface embroidery. In this form, the threads would have gold leaf wound around the textile thread. In the Middle Ages, a style of goldwork known as Opus Anglicanum developed in England, which had its origins in Anglo-Saxon needlework. By the 14th century, this work was highly regarded and sought after internationally. The embroidered item was normally made of linen or velvet and it was embroidered in split stitch and couching with silk and gold or silver thread. The finished pieces were very valuable and the technique was frequently used to make religious vestments. It is primarily only the religious items that have survived but it is also known to have been used on secular pieces and even furniture or book covers as well. The technique was also associated with being undertaken by nuns but was considered for centuries to be a very suitable activity for noblewomen whether they were in a convent or not.

Further Reading: W. H. Stevenson, Report on the Manuscripts of Lord Middleton, Historical Manuscripts Commission, 1911. p377.

Author - Debbie Jordan, Middleton Hall Volunteer.

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