Celebrating the RSN's 150th Anniversary - Ruby Essam

In this film, Chief Executive & Exhibition Curator, Dr Susan Kay-Williams shares the story of Ruby Essam, an RSN student with one of the longest connections to the school. In 1895 the RSN established the intense three-year Diploma Programme which gave students the qualifications to be able to go out and teach in the new technical colleges and in schools. This certificate was awarded to one of our earliest students, Ruby Essam, who graduated from the three-year Diploma Programme in 1916. Miss Essam went on to work in the Workroom until her retirement in 1976. She worked on a variety of pieces, including working on the Coronation Robes in 1937, and again in 1953. The certificate was brought back to the RSN in 2011 by her great nephew. Learn more about our history: https://royal-needlework.org.uk/our-history/