Visitors to Wimpole Estate can now step inside the library and walk on a detailed replica of its historic 18th-century carpet
Top image by Elliot Neale
Visitors to the National Trust’s Wimpole Estate can now step into its library for the first time, to experience the grandeur of the room as it was intended, thanks to an innovative project led by the estate’s collection and house team in collaboration with specialist textile conservators.
In a carefully orchestrated process, the library’s remarkable, historic carpet, decorated with shells, palm fronds and English flower garlands, was surveyed, surface-vacuumed and rolled into storage, before a strikingly accurate reproduction was laid in its place.
Created by Rutters UK, the replacement carpet is not woven, but instead has been printed using high-resolution photographic technology to replicate every detail of the original design. Visitors can now walk freely on this new carpet, without putting the original textile at risk.
The exact history of the original is still a topic of research, says Iain Stewart, senior collections and house manager and curator apprentice. “Manufactured in linen and wool, it is assumed to be an Axminster carpet, dated to the 1760s; probably designed by Thomas Whitty. Confirming the maker and date would mean the carpet is one of the few 18th-century items that remain at Wimpole Hall.”