Casgliadau Arlein

Diploma/certificate awarded to the Abertridwr Quilting Group at the Paris Exhibition in 1937. Inscribed: Republique Francaise / Ministere du Commerce et de l'Industrie / Exposition Internationale des Arts et des Techiniques / Paris 1937 / Diplome commemoratif / descerne a Abertridwr Quilting Group / Classe 1 / Section Nationale Britannique.

The Abertridwr Quilting Group was established under the auspices of the Rural Industries Bureau. The Bureau created a scheme in 1928 to encourage small craft industries in economically deprived areas. Evidence collected during the 1920s by Mavis FitzRandolph on behalf of the Bureau concluded that the few remaining village quilters in south Wales were producing work of poor quality, but were capable of improvement given better materials and financial incentives.

In response, the Bureau established several quilting classes in the industrial valleys of south Wales, taught by the most accomplished quilters in the area. Classes were set up in six centres: at Porth in the Rhondda, Abertridwr, Merthyr Tydfil, Splott in Cardiff, Blaina and Aberdare. The Bureau paid for the provision of materials and sourced commercial outlets for their work, one being Miss Muriel Rose's The Little Gallery, off Sloane Street, in London. Miss Rose demanded well-designed quilts and needlework of the highest standard, a contributing factor, no doubt, in her winning a commission to supply quilted bedcovers for Claridge’s. The Porth group became especially well-known for the quality of their work, mainly due to the knowledge and skill of their teacher, Miss Jessie Edwards.

The Bureau’s scheme ended with the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. Although geared towards a luxury market outside their locality, the scheme succeeded in raising the standard of Welsh quilting, producing a new generation of quilters who were well-versed in the traditional Welsh techniques and patterns.