ABOVE: Ben Kawalec as Robin Hood at Nottingham Castle. Photo supplied by Ben.
By Patricia Belyea
NOTTINGHAM UK Running tight on time when I left Birmingham, I took an Uber to Nottingham. It was a mite dear, but the silken ride in a Mercedes sedan made the one-hour journey to this legendary city super pleasant.
My first stop was Nottingham Castle. It was high noon. No Sheriff there, but I did meet Robin Hood!
The first-floor Castle Café was deserted when I ordered a hot drink and a treat. I chatted with the young man who served me, Ben Kawalec. Ben plays Robin Hood on weekends and during school holidays. A Nottingham native, he generously shared lots of tips for my short visit to town.
My goal in visiting the Castle was to see the Lace Gallery. Filled with three centuries of lace, the displays included a vast collection of vintage machine-made lace.
The most phenomenal piece was a monumental 15-foot panel depicting the Battle of Britain. The complex lace took two years to design, 15 months to make 40,000 Jacquard pattern cards weighing one ton, and just one week to mechanically weave — with more than 45 million yards of fine cotton thread. Only 38 panels were made before the cards were destroyed.
Central cases exhibited lace dresses on custom mannequins spanning 18 decades of women’s fashion. Two were wedding dresses—one from 1879 and one from 1910.
In 1840, Queen Victoria popularized the white lace wedding dress when she chose to forgo opulent royal robes for her own wedding. In bridal traditions today, lace continues to symbolize wealth, status, and the highest level of craftsmanship.
Leaving the castle, I walked to Debbie Bryan in Nottingham’s Lace Market district. Up the floral stairs to the Tea Room, I arrived just in time for my “Nottingham Lace Embellishment Crafternoon.” My session even included a Sweet Treat.
Katie welcomed me for my solo session of composing a lace collage in an embroidery hoop. I was surprised by how engaged I became, playing with the small pieces of lace. And embellishments! I had no idea that I was an Embellishment Girl!
My time in Nottingham was charmed. I came for the lace, met Robin Hood, discovered an unexpected excitement for embellishment, and left with a little piece of Nottingham tucked into an embroidery hoop.
As the day came to a close, I took the two-hour train ride back to Birmingham and the Festival of Quilts for my next adventure.
