Unravelling Threads - Working Class Lives: A Textile Exhibition by Sarah-Joy Ford and Sewing Café Lancaster

Servants. Housekeepers. Lawbreakers. A series of textile interventions reveal the hidden stories of working class people, from those who served the Judges to those who came before them charged with breaking the law.

This new exhibition celebrates the servants and other working class people as we mark 400 years of Lancaster's oldest Town House. Artist Sarah Joy Ford's stunning installation on the original mahogany Dining Table contrasts the wealth of the Judges with those who came before them for theft, poverty and homelessness. Combining new historical research with cutting edge embroidery techniques, she uncovers poachers, thieves, tramps and the poor - including a Polish poet and an Irish woman locked in Lancaster Castle. Sewing Café Lancaster have created a series of embroidered interventions about servant life. Discover their beautiful work placed around the house, from the Servants Hall to the Drawing Room, inspired by 18th century servant instruction manuals.

Dr Sarah-Joy Ford is a Todmorden based artist and independent scholar working with primarily in quilting, digital embroidery and pattern design. She is a Curatorial Researcher in lesbian art history at Bishopsgate Institute funded by the Paul Mellon Centre, and Visiting Research Fellow in at The University of Leeds, jointly held with Rachael Field (Sept 2025-2028). Ford sits on the National Executive Committee for Artist Union England, and her artistic work is represented by Cassinelli Mills. Her solo show dykeland is at The Whitaker (Rossendale) 4th June - 21st September 2025.

Lancaster Sewing Café is a grassroots project that advocates for an ethical textile industry and regenerative textile practices. Watch the events listing for future textile workshops.

Supported by the National Lottery, thanks to National Lottery Players.

The Housekeepers' Lodgings

Are you watching closely? A new digital re-telling of the stories of Lancaster's oldest Town House from the viewpoint of the Housekeepers and servants that lived there.

Committed to serving and service, surrounded by power and privilege, what was it like to be a Housekeeper at the Judges Lodgings? Uncover a new digital story told with humour through illustration, animation, projection and sound to illuminate the story of the Housekeepers.

Step inside the Servants Hall to hear from those who served the Judges, from Ellen Leighton's £50 annual salary to Peter Tomlinson and his prize-winning chickens. Ask yourself, who really belongs at the Lodgings?

Artwork by leo&hyde, a collective of musical storytellers who love using creative technology. leo&hyde use creative tech in imaginative ways to tell stories. Recent projection work includes Rapturous Delight (National Trust), and 'they were people first', a projection on the Judges Lodgings in Light Up Lancaster 2023, inspired by Lela Harris' portraits.

Judges' Lodgings is a Grade 1 listed historic house and Accredited Museum owned by Lancashire County Council and operated by Lancashire County Museum Service www.lancashire.gov.uk/museums