This morning we visited Oxburgh Hall where we had two tour guides, one from the house staff to give us the history and one to talk about the textiles, needlework and conservation.
When Elizabeth I was queen, she put her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, into custody at Oxburgh Hall. Mary spent 15 years in the custody of George, Earl of Shrewsbury. She passed the time by doing needlework along with Bess of Hardwick, George's wife. We saw several pieces that were worked by both ladies. According to the conservator, it is easy to tell which pieces were done by which lady by the quality of the work. The medallions were not originally on the background green velvet fabric, but were sewn onto the material in 17th century.
At one point, Bess, who was in her 50s when Mary was in her 20s, publicly accused Mary of having an affair with her husband. This was patently untrue, and Queen Elizabeth I made her apologize publicly. The Queen also never paid Bess and her husband for keeping Mary. Liz was a penny pincher and just let other people foot the bill for many things that she or her government should have paid.
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