Human hair embroidery

Bedsheet embroidered with possibly hair of decapitated man, England, c. 1716. Bedsheet embroidered with possibly hair of decapitated man, England, c. 1716. BBC, 14 February 2022. Courtesy Museum of London.

BBC News on 14 February 2022 published a short article about a bedsheet that was possibly embroidered with the hair of a decapitated man. The bedsheet is in the Museum of London and was acquired in 1934. It will be displayed at a planned exhibition in the Museum of London Docklands, to be opened in October 2022.

James Radclyffe 3rd Earl of Derwentwater Project Gutenberg eText 20946.The bedsheet was embroidered by Anna Maria Radclyffe (1693-1723) to commemorate her husband, James, who was beheaded for treason in 1716. James was the third Earl of Derwentwater and a grandson of Charles II. He was executed aged 26 for his involvement in the first Jacobite insurrection. His story features in Sir Walter Scott's novel, Rob Roy.

The bedsheet is worked with an intricate floral design and a large heart-shaped wreath. The design frames the text: "The sheet OFF MY dear Lord's Bed in the wretched Tower of London February 1716 x Ann C of Darwent=Waters."

The severed head was given to his wife, who may have taken the hair for the embroidery. 

WV, 22 March 2022

Last modified on Tuesday, 22 March 2022 17:48
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