Leaving a gift to the RSN in your Will
The Royal School of Needlework occupies a special place in the history of art embroidery in the UK and internationally. Since 1872 we have taught and maintained the highest standards in more than 40 techniques of hand embroidery.
As a registered charity, with no support from government, we rely on individuals, trusts, Livery companies and foundations for much of our income to keep alive these precious skills to the highest standard.
One way supporters can help us to maintain our world class teaching and Collection of hand embroidery is to include a legacy gift in your Will. A legacy of any size can make a significant difference to the future of the RSN.
A gift in your Will could help support
- Our educational programmes, for example by enabling our teachers, all trained at the RSN, to enhance their teaching skills
- Our resources and facilities, for example by enabling us to add new books to our library and enhance our computers so people may research other collections
- Our Collection. We have some 60,000 objects in the Collection, some are embroideries, others are archival items that tell the history of the RSN. The Collection needs to be looked after, catalogued and made available to others to study by being on line.
- Conserving items from the Collection. We need to clean and conserve items that are deteriorating (unfortunately, textiles are some of the most difficult objects to keep, for example silk can become shredded or brittle).We also need to seek advice on different options for cleaning and conservation and look at how these delicate textiles might best be looked after for the future.
- Exhibitions and displays of works from the students and from the Collection. Mounting an exhibition is costly and time consuming: pieces have to be researched, selected and framed, a catalogue has to be produced with photographs. A gift in a Will could help make these important opportunities for the RSN to display its work more viable.
Where a legacy gift is not for a specified area of our work, it will go to the area of greatest need or to a specific opportunity that we could not otherwise take up. One such example was the legacy that made it possible for us to buy back a four panel screen with embroideries on two sides, one side was designed by Rev Selwyn Image and the other by Nelly Wicheloe, head of the RSN Studio in the early 1900s, with wood work in the art nouveau style by McMurdo. The embroidery was produced in the RSN Studio.
Now the screen needs some significant conservation work as the silk backing to the embroideries has almost perished but we will have to raise the funds to make this possible.
The value of leaving a legacy to the Royal School of Needlework
Embroidery has been at the heart of the decorative arts for thousands of years. Many people still enjoy hand embroidery today, but the thing which sets the RSN apart is that it teaches people to the highest standard and then maintains that through its Studio. A legacy to the RSN will help us to keep alive the skills of hand embroidery to the highest level. In other words, future legacies will help the RSN to maintain and develop its world-class embroidery skills.
How to leave a gift in a Will to the Royal School of Needlework
Leaving a gift to a much loved organisation is a wonderful way to be remembered and to make a significant contribution to something that matters to you, regardless of the amount.
Obviously, you will wish to ensure your family and friends are provided for, but some people also wish to make a significant contribution to something that they have cared about during their life, knowing that such a gift can make a real difference to an organisation. Leaving a legacy to the Royal School of Needlework would be just such a gift. It might also mean that your estate will pay less in inheritance tax by including a gift to a charity.
It is very simple to include a gift to the Royal School of Needlework in your Will. When you consult with your solicitor or other adviser about your Will you can ask them to include the Royal School of Needlework. The wording you require is set out below.
Leaving a bequest
There are two ways in which you can leave a financial legacy in your Will to the RSN. The first is where you leave a specific amount of money. This is called a pecuniary gift. The second is where you leave a share of the residue of the estate, after all the specific gifts (whether money or property) have been allocated. This is called a residuary gift.
Wording for specific bequest
A Will is a legal document so you need specific wording to ensure the gift will go where you want it to. The following gives you the formal information your solicitor will need.
For a pecuniary gift
" I give the sum of £__________ to the Royal School of Needlework, Apartment 12A, Hampton Court Palace, Surrey KT8 9AU, Registered Charity number 312774 for its general charitable purposes and I declare that the receipt of the Treasurer or other proper officer shall be a good and sufficient discharge to my trustees."
For a residuary gift
I give an x% share of the residue of my estate to the Royal School of Needlework, Apartment 12A, Hampton Court Palace, Surrey KT8 9AU, Registered Charity number 312774 for its general charitable purposes and I declare that the receipt of the Treasurer or other proper officer shall be a good and sufficient discharge to my trustees."
Remember, any gift is very welcome and will be put to good use, regardless of the size.
If you already have a Will
Your solicitor can advise you on whether it is going to be simpler and cheaper to make a new Will or whether you can add what is called a Codicil. A Codicil is usually used where there is only one simple change, anything more than that and a new Will would normally be drawn up, which is very simple to do in this age of computers.
It is a good policy to review your Will every five years or so to ensure that it still meets your needs and all your beneficiaries are still relevant.
Leaving a specific item
Over the years the RSN has benefited from some very generous donations of embroidery: pieces made in our Studio, individual pieces created by RSN students and historical pieces from all periods
We really appreciate these donations, but if you are considering leaving an embroidery or other object to the RSN please can we ask you to think about the following. As a charity with limited storage space and limited means it is impossible for us to accept or keep everything that people might wish to give us. To guide you we have a Collections policy.
We will consider accepting
1. Needlework pieces that are directly related to the RSN
A) because they were worked here
B) designed and worked here
C) designed on commission for the RSN and worked here
D) worked by a student or staff member of the RSN
2. Needlework pieces that represent embroidery to a very high standard from any period or location. Such pieces can enhance our textile reference Collection or replace a current piece where the donation is of a higher quality.
3. Archival materials directly relating to the history of the RSN and the people connected with it.
The Collection plays a vital role for our students in learning about design and the construction of pieces, as well as stitching techniques, types of threads and so on. In the coming years we want to make more it available to students to study.
When you are thinking of leaving us embroideries, books or other items connected with needlework it is useful to know about the potential donation in advance, not least because there is often a story behind how it came into your possession and without advance notification this vital social history may be lost.
As a charity the RSN is rich in its skills but not its resources. We have to rely on supporters to help fund our work. When you are thinking about donating a piece to the RSN it would be wonderful if this could be accompanied by an endowment or supporting fund to help with its cleaning, storage and conservation, as well as towards possible exhibition. A supporting endowment with an article for the Collection can help ensure it can be kept in the best possible way. Also, the RSN would also expect the estate to fund the safe delivery of the item to the RSN.
Finally, because we have limited space and resources we ask that any piece given to us is given freely so that we may decide not only how it is used, but also that it may be disposed of if, for example we receiver a finer piece in the same style or have multiple copies of the same book.
Thank you
The RSN is indebted to everyone who leaves us a legacy. We recognise what a personal and special gift this is to our work and will work hard to ensure your gift is not only used effectively but is recorded and remembered.
For more information
If you are considering leaving the RSN a piece of work then please contact our curator, Eva Hansson at eva.hansson@royal-needlework.org.uk
If you would like to discuss how a monetary gift might be made or used, please contact Dr Susan Kay-Williams, the Chief Executive, who will be happy to discuss the matter with you on +44 (0)20 3166 6936.
All information will, of course, be kept confidential and is in no way legally binding.
