Carpet museum closure leaves artist 'heartbroken'

The closure of a carpet museum that told the story of a once-thriving industry in Kidderminster has left a textiles artist "heartbroken".

Charlotte Blazier said volunteering at the town's Museum of Carpet helped her grow as an artist.

The museum in the Worcestershire town, that was once known around the world for its carpets, will close its doors on Saturday amid financial pressures.

"A lot of people would think [of] somebody my age 'why would you care about a museum, why would you care about carpets'?" she said. But the history of the town was being lost, she explained, and people who lived there now did not understand its past.

Ms Blazier said many of the buildings from Kidderminster's carpets heyday had been knocked down, adding: "The heritage is just going to disappear and I think that's really sad.

"We're the only carpet museum in the UK. It's devastating, really."

The museum had two Victorian handlooms.

One made "Kidderminster Stuff", which was a versatile fabric used for floor coverings. The other made the original Kidderminster carpet.

Ms Blazier, who has used the machines, said: "Looms like this, people would have had in their homes, like in cottages.

"They would have worked for somebody and it was like piecework, so the whole family would get involved and make the cloth, the material, the carpet and then they'd get paid."

She said Kidderminster had always made carpets and textiles, adding: "Even in the Domesday Book, it was registered as a textile town, so it goes back all the way.

"We've got canals, we have sheep in the local area, we've got the River Severn, that's where they'd wash the wool, and then you'd spin it.

"It was normally the women and the children, they'd be spinning the yarns, ready to put on the loom, so a lot of work went into it, but Kidderminster has always made carpets."

She said a lot of people did not realise the craftmanship and skill that went into the work, adding: "I think it's important to remember and see for yourself how they were made."

The trust running the museum announced last month that the venue would be closing permanently. It had operated for 13 years and housed an extensive collection of objects, archives, books and photographs.

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