A very good report from Briony Leyland on the threat to Winchester’s Textile Conservation Centre.
What’s becoming increasingly clear is that the Government are flunking their responsibilities here. Ian Pearson’s answer to a question that Mark asked in Parliament makes this particularly clear.
But it’s probably best to let the report speak for itself!
One local story that hasn’t received the national coverage that it deserves is the University of Southampton’s plan to close the world-renowned Textile Conservation Centre at the Winchester School of Art.
The Textile Conservation Centre is not just a centre of excellence. It is the worldwide centre of excellence in textile conservation research, education and practice. The majority of trained textile conservators around the world studied at TCC.
Amongst other things, they’ve saved pirate flags, Nelson’s sails, the elephant man’s hat, Marlene Dietrich’s dresses and Freddy Mercury’s trousers.
A petition against the closure has been launched on the Number 10 website and has already been backed by more than 1,500 people. Please sign it if you can.
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