Mountmellick Museum & Conference
The quiet residential town of today belies Mountmellick’s rich history. Once a 17th century Quaker settlement, it developed into a thriving industrial town in the 1800’s – culminating in it being called the “Manchester of Irelandâ€.
Mountmellick today is better known for lending its name to the unique form of Irish “White on White†embroidery called Mountmellick Work.
Created in 1825 to assist the poor, Johanna Carter’s ‘new’ style combined the draughting and embroidery skills usually taught to cultured ladies of that period. Her rendering of realistic floral designs, perfectly balanced by the quiet white elegance of the stitches appealed to the simple taste of the 19th century Quakers.
Decades of women since have been connected by white cotton threads encrusted on White Satin Jean. Heirlooms of bed coverlets; pillow shams; children’s dresses and tablecloths survive today, passing on an age old tradition from one generation to the next……
