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.