A glimpse into lace-making and fashion trends in bygone days is the focus of a fresh new show at Abbot Hall’s Museum of Lakeland Life.

Put together by the museum’s newly appointed assistant keeper, Frances Snowden, it’s a step back in time, looking at the history of Lake District lace-making.

Frances, who was working in a temporary post in Abbot Hall’s education department before moving into her new role, had studied English and History of Art at University College of London, and was perfectly placed to take the keeper’s role ,researching objects and photographs in the Kendal venue’s collection stores, while working towards the museum’s exhibition programme for 2004.

Like many traditional crafts, lace-making declined with the advance of the Industrial Revolution. As textile mills mass-produced cheap lace, and other fabrics, the region’s thriving cottage industries virtually disappeared, along with the skills handed down through the generations.

Lakeland lace-making was revived by individuals like John Ruskin, Albert Fleming and the Garnett sisters, Annie and Frances.

Fleming created the Langdale linen industry, inspired by the teachings of Ruskin, to buy the women of Langdale a loom. As a result Langdale linen was born - unbleached and decorated with simple stitches and lace inserts.

So impressed was Ruskin, and in keeping with the Arts and Crafts ethos, he allowed his name to be used as a trademark for the linen.

Annie and Frances Garnett established ‘The Spinnery’ in Bowness along similar principles, dropping chemical dyes and modern production processes in favour of natural compounds and traditional techniques.

Their fabrics and designs, created exclusively in Bowness, attracted visitors to the Lakes to see and commission fabrics. Annie showed work at the London fairs, and was featured in the Victoria and Albert Decorative Arts Exhibition in 1952. The Abbot Hall museum holds the main collection of Annie Garnett fabrics and personal effects, and this latest show provides a golden opportunity to see some more of these on display.

Dresses also feature in the show, from starchy Victorian frocks to stylish evening numbers, reflecting the changing fashions of the early 20th century.

From a social history point of view, the books on display will raise a few eyebrows, such as How to Dress for £15 a year – as a lady, by a lady.

In addition, Frances is displaying a few more gems from the museum’s treasure chest with a selection of photographs by famed Lakeland photographer Joseph Hardman, including ten never shown before.

Hardman was born in Radcliffe, near Manchester, starting work in a factory as a child but moving to Kendal in 1911. After joining the local photographic society, his interest in photography grew, and for the last 30 years of his life he travelled to every part of the Lake District, usually by taxi, as a freelance photographer. His work is a unique record of Cumbrian life and work in the mid 1900s.

His photographs appeared regularly in The Westmorland Gazette, as well as national newspapers, magazines, several books, and he won countless awards.

A Lakeland Harvest runs in the coffee shop until October 29. The Museum of Lakeland Life is open Monday- Saturday, 10.30am-5pm.

For more information contact 01539-722464 or fs@abbothall.org.uk