Update November 04

REF. Sale of The Humphries Weaving Company Ltd.

A message from Mr R J Humphries
For and Behalf of the Humphries Weaving Company Ltd 

This is to let you know that we have sold our silk weaving company to Stephen Walters and Sons Ltd., silk weavers for nine generations and England’s oldest silk fabric manufacturer. We will soon be transferring our manufacturing to Sudbury Silk Mills in Sudbury, Suffolk.

Stephen Walters and Sons Ltd., with whom we have been associated since our own beginnings in 1972 at Sudbury, have purchased the business and goodwill of the Humphries Weaving Company Ltd. 

The design records, fabrics and archives will be preserved at Walters. I will continue to be involved with any requirements for special fabrics. Furnishing fabrics at Walters are manufactured on the latest high technology looms, offering a great flexibility in design, colour and texture, which will enhance our product range. 

We thank you for your continued custom, and assure you of our best attention at all times.

Update June 04

The results of five years work on the restoration of the furnishings at Queen Victoria’s seaside Villa were much admired, when the Queen and Prince Philip recently visited Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. Under the supervision of English Heritage the house has been restored, and the Dining Room, Drawing Room and Billiard Room have been returned back to the original schemes.

The rooms originally featured window drapes and upholstery of hand woven silk in crimson for the Dining Room, and a brilliant amber for the Drawing and Billiard Rooms. The recreation of the sumptuous fabrics has been undertaken at Devere Mill, where the unique handlooms are still able to produce the weaves and colours required.

 The design used for the Dining Room can be seen in other houses around England and Europe, but the design originally chosen for the adjoining  two rooms is unusual and  yet to be found anywhere else. This fabric layout is isometric and features musical instruments, gardening tools as well as urns, vases and much trailing floral decoration.

In order to recreate the huge repeat in the design a new Jacquard harness 63 inches (160cm) wide had to be constructed, along with almost 8000 programme cards needing to be re-cut from the hand painted point paper. Colour matching to the original shades has ensured the true brightness of the rooms can be  seen once again.