A charity founded in 1872 and based at Hampton Court Palace that teaches and practises hand embroidery, including work for royal ceremonies and fashion houses.
The Royal School of Needlework, or RSN, is a charity that teaches and carries out hand embroidery. Its studio takes on commissions for royalty, churches, fashion houses, artists and brands. It also runs courses ranging from one-day classes to a certificate, diploma and a degree in hand embroidery that is accredited through the University for the Creative Arts, according to Wikipedia. There are also online courses, private lessons and an online stitch library called the RSN Stitch Bank, launched in 2021 to digitally preserve stitches from around the world.
The school was founded in 1872 as the School of Art Needlework by Lady Victoria Welby. Its history page says the aim was to revive "a beautiful art which had fallen into disuse" and to give educated women skilled work so they would not be pushed into poverty. Queen Victoria became patron in 1875 and the royal name followed. The word Art was dropped in 1922. Over time it has produced coronation robes and regalia, the Overlord Embroidery that depicts D-Day, church textiles for several cathedrals, and, in 2011, work on the wedding dress of Catherine Middleton. It embroidered pieces for the 2023 Coronation, including the King's Robe of State.
The RSN has been based at Hampton Court Palace in south-west London since 1987. Before that it was in Kensington, and from 1903 it had a purpose-built centre on Exhibition Road near the V&A. It began in a small room above a bonnet shop on Sloane Street with about 20 employees and at its peak employed around 150 workers. It is a registered charity with a board of trustees, Rhian Harris is chief executive, and Queen Camilla is its patron.
On people and culture, the history page names famous collaborators, including designer Sarah Burton, artist Cornelia Parker and artist Philip Colbert, and a 2018 collection with fashion label E. Tautz made with degree students. During the First World War, the school also taught returning soldiers to stitch as therapy. The page does not state staff numbers. Its focus on craft skills, passed on through teaching, gives it a culture of learning and making. These are the school's own descriptions.
The RSN employs highly skilled embroiderers, tutors, designers who plan commissions, studio managers, and the usual charity roles in fundraising, events, marketing, finance and online learning. If you enjoy art, textiles, design, history or craft, it shows a different side of fashion from the catwalk: a long tradition of hand skill that fashion houses still turn to. Check its website for current opportunities and courses.
Website: royal-needlework.org.uk
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