Pamela Clabburn

Pamela Clabburn (13 April 1914 – 2 July 2010) was an English author, conservationist, curator, needlewoman and textile expert. She worked for the staff of Strangers' Hall Museum in Norwich as assistant curator of social history and at Norwich Museum as their assistant history of social history. Clabburn retired from Strangers' Hall in 1974, and set up the National Trust's textile conservation department three years later, overseeing the conservation of various textiles in East Anglian homes throughout the following decade. She was the author of books about textiles and founded the Costume and Textile Association in 1990.

Early life and pre-textile career On 13 April 1914, Clabburn was born in Norwich, Norfolk. She was educated at the Norwich High School for Girls and was about to enroll at the Royal School of Needlework when the Second World War broke out. She consequently joined the Army as a nurse, serving throughout the duration of the war.

Career She used her interest in needlework to establish a dressmaker business in Norwich, By 1977, She chose to receive the award from the Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk rather than at Buckingham Palace. Clabburn did not marry. A funeral service was held for her at the St Peter Mancroft, Norwich on 19 July, followed by a burial at Besthorpe All Saints.

Personality and legacy

Helen Hoyte said Clabburn "had a wry sense of humour" and "was a compulsive buyer of books". The Times and Sam Emanuel of Norwich Evening News wrote that Clabburn was " a world authority on textile conservation and an expert on the history of the Norwich shawl industry." A book that people were invited to contribute was to honour her, and her vast specialist costume and textile book collection was donated to the Norwich Museum Service.