Ruffs, Cuffs and Collars

As part of the remit of the museumaker programme, all the projects include elements of community participation. One of these for 'Place Setting' has been a series of workshops with children from Ham.

Ham House is the oldest of the trio of houses referenced in 'Place Setting', and was built in 1610. The third owner, William Murray, lived there from 1626 to 1655. He was the 'whipping boy' for Charles 1, and formed a close friendship with the future king.

Our workshops were focused around the theme of Elizabethan and Stuart ruffs and collars, drawing inspiration from 16th and 17th century portraits. Over the course of the workshops we created a series of ruffs, which are featured in our own portrait gallery, inspired by the long gallery at Ham.

Here are two of our star portraits.