History of Mountmellick Embroidery

According to tradition, in 1825, a Quaker woman named Joanna Carter, introduced what later became known as Mountmellick embroidery, she was, however, a member of the Church of Ireland. This embroidery became one of the most popular forms of needlework during the nineteenth century. The first known sale of the product was to the Earl of Dunraven (Lord Adare) of Limerick in 1847. Mountmellick embroidery is distinguished by the following characteristics:

• White on white (carried out on a white satin jean, with stitchery in white knitting cotton).
• Generally, eye-lids or open work is excluded.
• Natural floral designs which are usually fairly large in scale.
• With button-holed and fringed edges.

Mountmellick work had been particularly popular in the decoration of the following products: toilet covers, night-dresses, sachets, dressing table mats, comb and brush bags, quilt and pillow shams and pin cushions. A much finer type of Mountmellick embroidery was popular in the late nineteenth century, this was carried out on aprons, pinafores, children dresses and panels of ladies costumes.

Although carried out with the Mountmellick stitches, different materials like cashier wool were used, Weldon argued that this type of embroidery bore a very close resemblance to Crewel embroidery and thus lost its distinctiveness.

Although Joanna Carter is credited with it's introduction little is known about her. It has been traditional assumed that she had been a Quaker. However an educational report of 1824, describes her as a Protestant, which meant she belonged to the Church of Ireland. She ran a small school in a thatched house and had fifteen girls, eight of whom were members of the Church of Ireland and seven of whom were Catholics. Her annual income was nine pounds per year. Although the precise location of where she lived is not known, we know from the 'primary Valuation of Tenements' that a John Carter lived in a house in Pond Street Mountmellick in 1850. This is the only recorded Carter for the town at this period. According to the report on the Irish Industrial Exhibition of 1853, she was referred to as, 'Carter, J Mountmellick, Queen's county, Designer and Manufacturer, embroidered quilt, toilet cover and doileys.' The report also stated that Mrs. Carter was responsible for the design and execution of a richly embroidered quilt exhibited by the Countess of Eglinton. It is not clear that she was a native of Mountmellick. Another woman associated with its early development was Margaret Beale (1809-1877). She was an accomplished lacemaker, originally from Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford. She was married to Joseph Beale, the prominent manufacturer in the town.

The establishment of Mountmellick embroidery in the early nineteenth century seems to have been part of an increasing nation-wide interest in creative needlework. This was the period when Limerick lace, Carrickmacross lace and Muslin embroidery in the northern parts of Ireland, were being developed. Mountmellick embroidery seems to have been set up as an attempt to provide employment for local women. It was also taught by a Mrs. Anne Jellico in Clara, Co. Offaly. She ran embroidery schools from1850 to 1856. Alexandra College in Dublin was later founded by her.

The history of needlework in Mountmellick before the nineteenth century is unclear. However, when the Society of Friends opened their school in Mountmellick in 1786, the girls were instructed in needlework to earn money for their textbooks. There appears to have been strong links between Mountmellick embroidery and the Quaker Leinster Provincial School in the town. They fostered the tradition of embroidery by both teaching it and adapting their own designs. A government school report of 1858 recorded that plain and fancy needlework was being taught at the School. The same report also noted that plain and fancy needlework was taught to girls at the Church of Ireland School Mountmellick. The presentation sisters were heavily involved in the promotion of the craft. In 1920 when the Quaker school closed, the Presentation Sisters moved into the school and continued its embroidery tradition.

Four possible sources of influence on the origins on Mountmellick embroidery have been suggested. Most likely influence was Crewel embroidery because of the similarity of the stitches. Crewel is fine worsted yarn used for embroidery and tapestry. She may have found inspiration for her many varied designs from the abundance of flora nestled in the hedgerows and riverbanks of the Owenass River. A less likely source was that the craft originated in France and was taken to Ireland by the Huguenots. The Huguenots did settle in the nearby town of Portarlington. The third and final theory is that Joanna Carter may have been connected with or influenced by a Sister Carter from Fulneck, England. She started teaching embroidery at a Moravian settlement in Co. Antrim in 1793. It is unlikely that the two were related. Finally the presence of the cotton industry in the town must have been an influence on its development.

About 1880, a Mrs. Milner started an Industrial Association in Mountmellick in order to help provide a livelihood 'for distressed Irish gentlewoman.' By 1890, it is known to have had fifty women employed in producing the embroidery. This seems to have lead to a major upsurge in interest in it. It was taken up by women throughout the country, as a consequence, it ceased to be just a local craft. A Mrs. Florance Patterson, an architect from Craigivad, Co. Down, was an expert in needlework including Mountmellick embroidery. At this time it seems that Mountmellick embroidery was gaining international recognition. For example in 1885, Alexandra, Princess of Wales, visited Ireland and the Association presented her with a dressing table cover in Mountmellick embroidery. Between 1890 and 1898, Weldon Publishers of London produced four volumes called, 'Weldon's Practical Mountmellick embroidery.' Altogether, Weldon published eight volumes on the subject and helped to make the embroidery extremely popular. Barour's prize Needle-Work series was published in Boston, in the United States in the 1890s. It included a section on Mountmellick embroidery. One consequence of its increased popularity was that the emphases in its production changed from being of income for the poor to being a middleclass social passtime.

The production of Mountmellick embroidery and other forms of needlework began to decline during the last century. By 1907, the number of people employed in the production of the embroidery had fallen from fifty to eight. Despite this, it maintained its reputation for quality, style and durability especially abroad. In 1963, President Kennedy was present with a white quilt made of Mountmellick embroidery from the National Council for the Blind of Ireland.

The tradition of Mountmellick embroidery lives on today due to the valuable work of Sr. Teresa Margaret. She has taught herself the traditional techniques. At present, she is holding weekly classes in Mountmellick Embroidery at the Mountmellick Development Association building.