Bespoke Curtain Fitting - Wroxton College

Curtain Fitting at Wroxton Abbey

Offering a curtain fitting service can take you to some very interesting places! We recently had the opportunity to create and fit curtains for Wroxton Abbey in Oxford. A fantastic building that seems like a cross between Downton Abbey and Harry Potter's Hogwarts!

Wroxton Abbey

A historic venue

Wroxton Abbey was built in the early 17th century by William Pope, the 1st Earl of Downe.  It was built on the same grounds as a 12th century monastery that was destroyed by Henry VIII when he passed The Dissolution of Monasteries in 1536. 

The exquisite Jacobean manor house passed to the Norths in the late 17th century. The hall has played host to many royals, authors, and presidents, including King Charles I, Prince Frederick, Henry James and Theodore Roosevelt. 

The abbey boasts a large muti room library, several royal bedrooms and a large banquet hall. It is now home to the overseas campus of Fairleigh Dixon University of Teaneck, New Jersey in the United States.  Each student has use of 45 bedrooms each with en suite bathrooms and a recreation room.

The requirements

The college contacted us for a complete curtain fitting service.  They required 4 pairs of curtains to be made at a 5 metre drop.  These curtains were to be made with pencil pleat headings and to be fitted with new rails in each of the windows of the college library.  They would also require 25 pairs of matching curtains for a selection of bedrooms that were being renovated.

Obviously, we were very excited to place our curtains within the walls of this stunning Abbey.  Our team were incredibly proud to have our curtains hanging in such a historic place.

Selecting a style

We have a massive selection of fabrics to choose from but wanted to make sure the fabric suited the college.  Too modern would really make for a bad contrast, the same would happen if we chose the wrong colour.  During our selection we really did keep in mind the history of the building and how best to enhance the tranquility of the library in particular.

Finally we settled on the Grafton Red design, a very classic Tudor design in keeping with Abbey style.

Curtain fitting

Curtains for the library were five metres in length and as you can picture, a large mass of fabric. Curtains were fitted and hung in the Abbey’s libraries, reading room, and royal bedrooms.

All of the curtains were made in a traditional pencil pleat and floor length finishes. They were carefully fitted along new glide tracks so that even with the sheer volume of fabric, the curtains could be opened and closed with ease. These curtains were placed under the very old existing cornices. (Oh - how our arms ached!)

The hanging of the curtains required the construction of a scaffold tower in each room, so that the old curtains and brass tacks could be removed and replaced with our modern ‘glider’ aluminum tracks. The new design tracks incorporated rollers and make opening the curtains a breeze.

Once the tracks are in place, each curtain is adjusted to the perfect size and fit with hooks and curtain tape to correspond to the loops on the tracks. The hanging of each curtain required three people to help lift the curtains up the scaffold tower and set the hooks in place one by one. Once the curtains were hung, we made the adjustments and tied them off.

The process began again at this point; as the scaffold was dismantled, moved to the next room and reconstructed until all rooms were completed.

Reading Room Window

North Library Completed Curtains

Reading Room and

North Library Curtains

Four poster curtains

In addition to the window curtains, we also did curtains and drapes for the four poster bed in Prince Frederick’s bedroom.

Frederick, Prince of Wales, who was to be king, was a frequent visitor to Wroxton, and had an obelisk erected on the estate to show his appreciation for the hospitality he was shown there. Rumor holds that Prince Frederick may have been Prime Minister Frederick Lord North’s father, making Lord North brother to George III. Though the resemblance is great; the rumor has not been substantiated. Alas, Prince Frederick was not to become king; unfortunately he died after being stuck by a cricket ball!

If you are interested in made to measure curtains for your home. We offer a full selection of colourful fabrics, designs and patterns which feature hundreds of choices, in stock and special order, available to bring your room or your entire home together – just like the rooms at Wroxton Abbey.

Visit our curtain showroom now open in Lancashire. Enjoy a coffee or tea while you browse the amazing selection of fabrics. Our friendly expert team will answer your questions and help you choose the ideal finish for your windows.

Need help? Victoria Linen offers a full made to measure curtain service including measuring and fitting.

Call 01706 220020 drop us an email or stop by today and let us help you get started on your home’s new look with our custom designed curtains.