After 550 years, a fabric found in a Norwich bishop's tomb is recreated

"The project was part of the £23m redevelopment of the Norman keep at Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery in the east of England. Working with Norwich Cathedral and Gainsborough Silk Weaving in Suffolk, with the support of Norwich's Costume and Textile Association, the Castle Museum planned to display the newly recreated fabric to show the splendid colour and pattern of the original silk vestments alongside some of the fragments, on rotation to avoid their deterioration."

"Small pieces were taken as samples more than a century ago; most of these were kept in Norwich, though around 16 fragments were donated to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. "They seem to have taken out just the best pieces, washed them and then folded the edges and pressed them," Gomolka says. "The original fragments have little holes from a thread, so they must have been put on some sort of board for display-there may have even been private exhibitions of these fragments at some point.""

Tiny silk fragments from the burial robe of Bishop Walter Lyhert (d.1472) were found when his tomb was opened during 1899 building works at Norwich Cathedral. The fragments have been on long-term loan to Norwich Castle since discovery, with around 16 pieces donated to the Victoria and Albert Museum. Early handling included sampling, washing, folding and pressing, leaving small holes and making the pieces too fragile for long display. As part of the £23m redevelopment of the Norman keep, a collaborative project recreated the red and purple fabric and will show the recreation alongside rotated original fragments. Research identified at least two designs, including a monogrammed floral motif similar to a 1358 Coronation of the Virgin depiction.

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