Hannah Horsfall

The Ackworth School was founded in 1779 in northern England, with the purpose of providing an education for Quaker children from less affluent families; it was expected that both male and female students would receive an academic education. In addition, the girls learned needlework, both plain sewing and finer skills, and many of the Ackworth school sampler patterns became hallmarks of excellent samplermaking throughout England and the United States. Carol Humphrey’s book, Quaker School Girl Samplers from Ackworth (Needleprint, 2006), is an important source regarding the school and samplers made there.

Ackworth samplers are amongst the most sought after of all English schoolgirl needlework and we are delighted to offer this outstanding example. Made in 1809 by Ackworth student Hannah Horsfall, it’s a very beautiful and finely worked multi-colored geometric medallion and motif sampler. Carol Humphrey writes about these “exquisite coloured examples” - a particularly sophisticated type of sampler that was developed at the school initially in the 18th century. These samplers featured many interesting and complex full and half medallions, some highly stylized, enclosing swans, birds or flowers. Occasionally uppercase letters of the alphabet were scattered randomly among the medallions and motifs. 

Ackworth recorded specific information about their students and their archives include the following: Hannah Horsfall was a pupil between 1806 - 1810 but left for over a year during that period. She was born 12th of June 1796 and admitted to the school for the first time on 16th April 1806, aged 9 years and 10 months. Her parents were Quakers, Joseph and Mary Horsfall of Gildersome in Yorkshire. They belonged to the Brighouse Monthly Meeting. Hannah left the school on 31st July 1807 "with her father being indisposed". She returned to Ackworth on 24th October 1808, aged 12 years and 4 months and left finally on 27th July 1810, with her father.

Worked in silk on wool, the sampler is in excellent condition with some very minor areas of weakness or loss to the wool. It has been conservation mounted and is in a molded and black painted frame. This sampler was charted by The Spinning Monkey: Stitches With a Past in 2008.