The Class of 1884: Echoes from Truro’s Teacher Training College – a residency with Vicki Aimers

This July (Tuesday 22-Saturday 26, excluding Friday 25 July), book artist and PhD researcher, Vicki Aimers, will be an artist in residence at Kresen Kernow. Vicki will be creatively exploring Truro Teacher Training College (1812-1938) – a vital Cornish institution that, for over a century, prepared generations of women for a life in education. Drawing on the rich archival collections we care for, the residency will uncover the lives and legacies of the women who studied, stitched and taught – locally, nationally and across the world.

From the early days as pupil-teachers in village schools to graduates of a rigorous two-year programme, these women were trained not only in the three Rs (reading, writing and arithmetic), but also in needlework, science, geography, music, domestic science and history. Their hands shaped the futures of countless children.

Through workshops for adults and families, the residency will bring to life this overlooked history, celebrating teaching as both a craft and an enduring vocation. Participants will be invited to stitch, share and reflect on their own experiences of education and needlework practices, contributing to a collaborative record of learning, teaching and textile memory.

At the heart of the residency is a remarkable yearbook kept by Elizabeth “Lizzie” Williams, a student at the college from 1883 to 1884. Inspired by the poetic messages and drawings by Lizzie’s friends, Vicki has created a series of conceptual artist books focusing on the fictional story of the graduating class of 1884, exploring their possible aspirations, friendships and futures.

Also on display will be The Tangled Thread Archive – a participatory project gathering stitched, written and drawn memories in fabric, paper and thread. This living repository honours community narratives about educational experiences, female labour and sewing as a form of care and knowledge transmission.

The work forms part of Vicki’s ongoing PhD at the Fashion and Textiles Institute at Falmouth University.

The residency is free to visit during our usual opening hours, from Tuesday 22 July until Saturday 26 July (excluding Friday 25 July).

You may also like the following events from Archives and Cornish Studies Service:

• This month, 26th July, 10:00 am, Stitched Beginnings: Sewn Bookmarks – family workshop in Redruth
• This month, 29th July, 10:00 am, Piskey Path with Mazed storytellers – summer at KK in Redruth
• This month, 31st July, 10:00 am, Tregarthen Tales with the Mazed storytellers – summer at KK in Redruth

Also check out other Workshops in Redruth, Arts events in Redruth, Fine Arts events in Redruth.