Obituary

Ada Archer – a life of a lace maker

Ada was a born lace maker. She taught Honiton Lace for many years and was one of the oldest remaining members of the Devon Lace Teachers.

When I arrived to work in Teignmouth Library 30 years ago, there was a small piece written about me in the Teignmouth Post as the new librarian. It mentioned that I made bobbin lace, and within the week Ada came and introduced herself to me and welcomed me to Devon as a fellow lace maker.

Ada made exquisite Honiton Lace and was teaching for over 30 years in the Teignmouth area until a few weeks before she died at the grand age of 80. She ventured into other types of lace with some encouragement from others and liked making Maltese lace as well as Torchon lace.

She was a very practical lacemaker, and was always writing instructions, or altering a design to suit her needs and enjoyed a challenge to get the pattern right, before working it, as much as working the lace.

On being given several pieces of Malacca lace by myself, she started to find out the history of it and as there were no patterns available, used the lace to create patterns and could then show how the lace was worked in the different colours. She then wrote to Lace magazine about her findings and offered the patterns to others to work.

She was a very private person, but when persuaded to talk, we found out that she had been born and brought up in India before coming to England for her education. She and her husband travelled alot and was fluent in reading Spanish which was a great advantage as a translator of Spanish lace patterns for her pupils!

She joined the Torbay Lacemakers on their annual weekends on Dartmoor, always bringing a different type of lace to ‘have a go at’ with friends on hand to help and advise. She is a great friend lost to all her pupils, may she remembered for her quiet, calm teaching manner and her patience as well as the lovely lace and embroidery she produced.

Jo Hyde August 2010