Oxburgh Hangings

The Oxburgh Hangings are not some macabre re-enactment of medieval executions but a set of embroidered panels, housed at the National Trust owned Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk.  It being Easter weekend, we were on the lookout for a NT Easter egg hunt location, and the opportunity to combine this with a visit to some needlepoint by none other than Mary, Queen of Scots, was too good to miss.

The panels were thought to be embroidered by Mary Queen of Scots and Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury between 1569 and 1584, during which period Mary was held captive in England.  Oxburgh Hall has 3 large panels, in absolutely amazing condition considering their age, mainly consisting of motifs of animals and fish, real and imaginary, copied from illustrations of the time.  

The embroideries are now owned by the V&A and some are loaned back to Oxburgh hall for display.  You can see some of the stock images from the V&A collection here: http://www.vandaimages.com/results.asp?cat1=Oxburgh+Hangings&X8=17-25

Some of the pictures I took of the hangings are below.  I'm hoping to perhaps be able to draw inspiration from them for one of my future RSN certificate projects.  It was a treat for me to be able to spend some time alone admiring the hangings while the children explored the grounds.  I would recommend Oxburgh Hall, it's a gorgeous house, easily explored, with lovely woodland walks.  The tea shop though is a bit of a disappointment by National trust standards- my advice would be to picnic in the lovely grounds instead.