Draft:Alec Hunter
Textile artist, first squire of the Morris Ring
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alec Butler Hunter (1899-1958) was a British textile artist and designer, known for his work with Warner & Sons in Braintree, and for setting up Edinburgh Weavers.[1] His textile work was recognised for its vitality, reflecting Hunter’s interest in ideas of ‘flow’ and ‘movement’. [2] He was squire of Thaxted Morris Men, and the first squire of the Morris Ring.[3]
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Early life
Alec Hunter was born in 1899 in Haslemere, Surrey, son of Edmund Hunter (founder of the St Edmundsbury Silk Weaving Works). Alec’s parents, Edmund Arthur Hunter (1866-1937) and Harriette Dorothea Butler (1868-1958) moved to Haslemere in rural Surrey to absorb artisan traditions from the Peasant Art Movement, but quickly established St. Edmundsbury Weaving Works in 1902 before settling in Letchworth Garden City in 1908.[4]
Marriage and children
Professional life
Alec Hunter worked for his father’s firm in Letchworth between 1920 and 1927. He then moved to Edinburgh where he set up Edinburgh Weavers as a division of Morton Sundour Fabrics. In 1932 he joined Warner & Sons as a designer, and became director of the firm in 1943.[1] He headhunted Marianne Straub to join Warner & Sons in 1950.[7]
The Alec Hunter Academy in Braintree is named after him. His fabric Cressing inspired the design of the Alec Hunter Academy school tie.[8]
Morris dancing
Alec Hunter was squire of Thaxted Morris Men, and he was instrumental in defining the team’s ‘kit’ or uniform.[7] He worked with Marianne Straub at Warners, and used her ‘Norwich’ fabric to create Thaxted Morris Men’s distinctive striped waistcoats.[9] On June 2 1934, the Morris Ring was constituted in Thaxted, and Alec was elected as its first squire.[3] He served as squire until 1936, succeeded by Kenworthy Schofield.
Hunter’s toast made at the inaugural Morris Ring meeting in 1934, “to the immortal memory of Cecil Sharp”[10], has become a consistent and familiar toast made at Morris Ring Feasts and events ever since.
Dr Matt Simons featured Alec Hunter alongside Rolf Gardiner and Joseph Needham in his thesis, Morris Men: Dancing Englishness.[11]