Vintage Apron from the Barbican in Plymouth, England on Frame. Folk designs of bats and butterflies, simple stitch, uncertain date of origin but archaic style. Information on back, reading "Purchased at the Barbican, Plymouth, England 1985." 

Condition: Commensurate with age. 

Overall: 34 1/2 x 24 in. 

Sight: 31 x 21 in. 

Depth: 1 3/8 in. 

#3655 . 

The Barbican is the name given to the western and northern sides of Sutton Harbour, the original harbor of Plymouth in Devon, England. It was one of the few parts of the city to escape most of the destruction of The Blitz during World War II, and has the largest concentration of cobbled streets in Britain with over 100 original historic buildings still standing. The present Barbican district is roughly equivalent to the location and size of the medieval walled town of Sutton. A barbican is a fortified gate, and here the name probably derives from the “Castle Barbican” which was an entrance to Plymouth Castle, the late medieval fortress that guarded access to the Cattewater, prior to the building of the Royal Citadel. For centuries the Barbican was home to Plymouth’s fish market, but many old and significant buildings were demolished during the late 19th and first half of the 20th Centuries out of necessity, as they had decayed into unsanitary and heavily overcrowded slum tenements following the flight of wealthy merchant landowners to country estates. The Plymouth Gin Distillery is one of the largest continuously functioning businesses in the Barbican, producing Plymouth Gin since 1793, which was exported around the world by the Royal Navy. Places of interest include the National Marine Aquarium, one of the largest and deepest tanks in Europe; the Elizabethan House, built in the early 16th Century and now used as a museum; the Mayflower Steps near where the Pilgrims finally set off in the Mayflower for the New World in 1620; and the studio gallery of the late eccentric painter Robert Lenkiewicz, who lived and worked on the Barbican for many years deriving much of his inspiration and income from the local community. The Barbican also contains a variety of shops and businesses including the world-renowned Barbican Theatre, retail art galleries, the Dolphin Inn, and numerous bars and eateries, some dating back to the 18th Century. In the new Millennium the city has been revitalized significantly, while still attempting to retain the charm of its underground movement that flourished in the 1970s through 90s.

Commensurate with age.