Margaret Pilkington

Margaret Pilkington (25 November 1891 – 2 August 1974) was a British wood-engraver who was active at the beginning of the twentieth century. She was a pupil of Noel Rooke at the Central School of Art and Design and was a member of the Society of Wood Engravers and the Red Rose Guild. She was awarded the OBE in 1956. Background Pilkington was born into a wealthy family, the Pilkingtons of the Pilkington Glassworks and Pilkington Tile Company. In 1913 she went to study at the Slade School of Fine Art, London where she was taught wood engraving by Lucien Pissarro. In 1914 she went on to the Central School of Art and Design, London to study wood engraving under Noel Rooke. Charitable activities From early in her life she promoted a number of social projects, girls' clubs, a Pioneer Club for professional girls and women, and, most notably, the Red Rose Guild. In 1920 she organised an exhibition for designer craftsmen in Manchester and from this the guild developed. Early members and exhibitors included Ethel Mairet, Katherine Pleydell-Bouverie, Bernard Leach and Muriel Bell. The guild was a sponsor of the fledgling Craft Centre of Great Britain when it was founded in 1947.