Buckinghamshire Lace

Buckinghamshire lace, also called Bucks lace, bobbin lace made in the English East Midlands from the end of the 16th century. It was referred to by William Shakespeare in Twelfth Night (c. 1600–02), in which Orsino mentions “the free maids that weave their thread with bones” (Act II, scene 4). Bucks may originally have been a form of torchon lace known as “tawdry” lace and marketed by itinerant peddlers. Its characteristic form may not have developed before the late 17th century. It was certainly influenced by the recurrent influxes of refugees fleeing religious persecution in both France and Flanders.

As late as 1809 Buckinghamshire lace was referred to as English Lille, from its technical and design similarities to the French lace from Lille: a simple meshwork ground made in continuity with the rustic style linen-stitch motifs, each surrounded by a thicker gimp thread. The Mechlin rose motif also occurred quite frequently. Important centres of production were Newport Pagnell and Olney, where in 1906 Harry Armstrong set up the Bucks Lace-making Industry under the name “Mrs. Armstrong,” in case women might be too embarrassed to order lace from a man.