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Dean Castle Tapestries Collection

Dean Castle Tapestries Collection

Tapestry is one of the oldest forms of woven textile art, using wool or fabric and traditionally woven by hand on a loom by skilled artisans. Once belonging to Thomas Scott-Ellis, 8th Baron Howard de Walden, this cultivated collection ranges from early 16th to late 17th century with beautifully intricate examples in tapestry design and production of mainly Flemish origins.

The tapestries collection was gifted to East Ayrshire Council in 1974 by de Walden's son, the 9th Lord Howard de Walden, along with Dean Castle and its estate, an extensive collection of arms and armour, and a collection of early musical instruments: a Recognised Collection of National Significance, some of which you can see here. While Dean Castle undergoes its restoration work that is due to be completed in 2021, you can see some of these objects and many more at the Dick Institute in Kilmarnock.