An extraordinary piece of seventeenth-century needlework, preserved at Levens Hall in Cumbria, has inspired one of our most ambitious embroidery projects yet. Under the expert guidance of Kate Barlow, this remarkable little box is being brought back to life, stitch by stitch.
Hidden within the historic collections of Britain's great country houses are some of the most extraordinary examples of early English embroidery. Among them is a beautiful seventeenth-century embroidered trinket box at Levens Hall in Cumbria.
Richly decorated with symmetrical flowers and foliage, this remarkable object offers a fascinating glimpse into the artistry, imagination and technical accomplishments of embroiderers working more than three centuries ago.
Trinket boxes were both beautiful and useful, designed to hold treasured possessions while displaying the extraordinary accomplishments of their makers. The Levens Hall trinket box is a wonderful example of this tradition.
Through our longstanding partnership with Levens Hall, we have had the privilege of inviting Kate Barlow to work directly from the original box, allowing her to study its construction, decoration and historic stitches in extraordinary detail and bring this wonderful piece of needlework back to life.
An accomplished embroiderer and graduate of the Royal School of Needlework, Kate brings an exceptional understanding of historic techniques and a remarkable eye for detail to her work.
Kate has worked closely with the original to interpret the embroidery and the box itself, studying its stitches, colours, composition and construction to develop a project that remains faithful to the spirit of the seventeenth-century piece.
The embroidery incorporates six traditional stitch techniques: Tent and Half Cross stitches, Elizabethan Looped Edging, Elizabethan Plaited Braid Stitch, Heavy Chain Stitch, Elizabethan Spider's Web Stitch and Elizabethan Plaited Gobelin Stitch.
Embellished with tiny silver spangles and completed using traditional box construction techniques, the Levens Hall Trinket Box is a remarkable expression of historic needlework skill.
One of the most exciting aspects of this project is that the embroidery does not simply become a framed picture. Once the individual panels are complete, students will learn how to transform their needlework into a beautiful three-dimensional box.
Following the detailed finishing instructions provided in the kit, the embroidered fabric is carefully gathered and laced around specially prepared card pieces before the individual panels are stitched together.
The interior is lined with delicate pink silk, while decorative gold braid conceals the joins and provides the finishing touches. Kate's interpretation also includes an optional extra: a beautiful needlelace flower to place inside.
Levens Hall
Situated just south of Kendal in the beautiful Cumbrian countryside, Levens Hall is one of England's most remarkable historic houses, with a history stretching back more than 700 years.
Its origins lie in a medieval defensive tower built by the de Redman family. During the late sixteenth century, the Bellingham family transformed the building into a magnificent Elizabethan residence, introducing the richly carved woodwork, decorative plaster ceilings and elegant interiors that can still be admired today.
In 1688, the estate passed to Colonel James Grahme, a former courtier to King James II. It was Grahme who commissioned the French gardener Guillaume Beaumont to create the extraordinary formal gardens for which Levens is now celebrated. Laid out from the 1690s, these gardens are home to some of the oldest surviving topiary in the world, with their remarkable clipped yews and geometric forms retaining much of their original seventeenth-century character.
The house has remained a family home through successive generations and is today cared for by the Bagot family. Its interiors contain an extraordinary collection of historic furniture, paintings, textiles and personal possessions, offering a wonderful insight into the lives and tastes of the families who have lived there over the centuries.
We are enormously grateful to the Bagot family for allowing us access to the original trinket box and for collaborating with us to bring this remarkable piece of needlework to life once again.
The Levens Hall Trinket Box will be available as a kit worldwide in late 2027. In the meantime, stitchers have the opportunity to begin this extraordinary project under Kate's expert guidance at our October 2026 and March 2027 retreats at Askham Hall.
We hope that, through this project, the artistry and techniques of the original seventeenth-century embroiderer will continue to be studied, practised and enjoyed for generations to come.
