University of Brighton
Dress and Textile History Teaching Collection
Walter Fielden Royle designs for printed dress textiles, 1920-1961.

Teaching Collection number TEAF 329

Catalogue of croquis designs, hand painted in flatly applied gouache on stiff card. Most are address-stamped on the reverse. All are rectangular except when stated otherwise. Catalogue compiled by Lou Taylor in February 2013.

Notes supplied in the mid 1980s with the donation of similar designs produced by W. Fielder Royal by Malcolm Ross indicate that ‘after finishing his initial training Royal set up his own studios in his parents’ house, the Knolls, Cornhill Road, Davyhulme, Urmston. Most of the unsold designs in Packet 1 are address-stamped on reverse: ‘W. Fielden Royal. Textile Designer, Manchester, TEL URMSTON 244’ and thus date from the 1920s till W.W.2 when he joined the RAF, as Ross notes too. Designs stamped with ‘W. Fielden Royal, Designer, 75, Princess Street, Manchester’ date from c.1946 to 1961. Three designs carry a stamp with his last studio address : ‘W. Fielden Royal, Designer, 120, Portland St. Manchester CEN 28002,’ probably covering the mid 1950’s till he retired in 1961.

Three designs (FR1.10, FR1.15 and FR1.17) carry the price ’17/6′ in pencil on reverse.

Width sizes vary from 7.5 – 25cms. Width direction has been assessed by the direction of the address stamps where present and by marks of glue along a top edge- left in place after de-mounting by Fielden Royal’s widow. If not, this has been guessed and indication written in pencil.