Life's rich tapestry

One of the more fascinating features of the Edinburgh suburb of Corstorphine used to be the Edinburgh Tapestry Company which was quartered in close proximity to a 16th century Dovecot, from which it in time derived its name. Established in 1912 by the 4th Marquess of Bute, a remarkable benefactor and conservationist, its first weavers came from the Merton Abbey workshops that were founded in Wimbledon, England, by the English craftsman, William Morris.

The Dovecot Tapestry did not therefore have a strong Scottish tradition to draw from, but it soon set about creating one for itself and, over the subsequent century, rapidly established a growing international reputation for the quality of its work.

Creative projects with renowned artists such as Stanley Spencer, Henry Moore, Graham Sutherland, David Hockney, Eduardo Paolozzi and, more recently, Barbara Rae, Elizabeth Blackadder, Claire Barclay and William Crozier have consolidated this position, but, eight years ago, the studios were threatened with closure after the 7th Marquess of Bute announced that his family could no longer continue to support the operation.

Although the demand for original one-off tapestries for display and decoration on walls throughout the world was still very apparent, the costs involved in running such an operation had escalated dramatically.

It was then that philanthropist and businessman Alastair Salvesen, a scion of the well-known Scottish shipping dynasty stepped in, initially re-locating the...

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• By : Roddy Martine
• In : Roddy Martine's World
• Issue : 42
• Page : 7
• Words : 702