Riches to Rags: Huguenot Silk Weavers of Spitalfields

Lecturer: Sue Jackson.

Welcomed at first with open arms and bringing luxury skills, the Huguenots’ fortunes fluctuated wildly. The talk comprises information about their early 18th-century houses that still stand, how they were decorated and lived in; and the fashionable patterned silk dresses – who designed and made them. And how, finally the trade died out, with some weavers literally dying in poverty at their looms.

Sue Jackson. Sue was originally in academic art and design publishing and is a Fellow of the Huguenot Society and is a Freeman of the City of London. She is a tutor at the City Literary Institute and a Blue Badge guide, conducting a variety of walks and visits.