Legacy
The purpose-designed building in Winchester which the TCC occupied from 1999-2009
The TCC was founded in 1975, when it was established as a charitable trust based at Hampton Court Palace. In 1998 the TCC became part of the University of Southampton and relocated to a purpose-designed building on its Winchester campus. The Centre was closed by the University of Southampton on 31st October 2009.
Three decades of work by the TCC's staff and graduates has transformed textile conservation internationally. Over 250 textile conservators trained at the TCC as well as 140 curators. Between 1999 and 2009 alone the TCC's staff published nearly 250 books, edited volumes and papers. In that period the staff of the TCC raised millions of pounds for research, including the £948,000 award from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (please see the Research section of this website for more information), as well as hundreds of thousands of pounds in bursaries. The TCC has rightly been described by Jerry Podany, President of IIC, as 'national treasure for Britain, a national treasure on which the other national treasures depend' (The World This Weekend, BBC Radio 4, April 19th 2009).
The legacy of the TCC's work over the past 34 years is huge. This section of the website can only capture a tiny amount of it. In this section you can find out about the TCC's achievements - in education, research and in conservation practice. Where possible it gives you links to further information or e-versions of publications. Several slide shows are included to give an idea of the range of the Centre's work and you can download files of students' dissertation abstracts, MPhil/PhD summaries as well as staff publications.
