We are very pleased to invite you to a stitching day at Ackworth School on 30th August 2025, for a day hosted by The Cross Stitch Guild that includes a rare chance to view the school's archive of distinctive samplers and to stitch an exclusive project designed for the occasion by Jane Greenoff.
Ackworth School, near Pontefract, West Yorkshire, was founded in 1779 as a Quaker School. The Guild's involvement with the school goes back over a decade beginning when the School governers asked us to help them study, preserve and publicise the presense of the unique collection of samplers. Jane Greenoff has designed a range of projects inspired by these famous samplers, recognisable by the distinctive use of medallion shapes. The school has a collection of samplers stitched by pupils at the school in the Quaker tradition going back several centuries. Many of these pupils took their finished pieces with them as examples of their ability to show future employers when trying to get a job in domestic service. The School's collection is unique as they are able to trace the provenance back to individual pupils that attended the school.
Ackworth is still a working school today, which takes day students and boarding students. The date of our visit will be outside of term time, which gives us the freedom to see more of the School itself without disturbing the students.
Our Day here will begin at 9:30, and run through to 4:30, with a tantalising stitching project interspersed with the chance to view the samplers. The price also includes morning and afternoon refreshments, plus lunch at the school. The price does not include travel or accommodation.
There is some limited availability of accommodation at the School itself, and if you are interested in this option you will need to contact the school directly by emailing Katherine.Cordon@ackworthschool.com for more information.
(Please Note the picture shows an example of one of the Ackworth samplers and is not the project for the stitching day)