In Memoriam – Wendy Hefford

It is with great sadness that we report the passing of our trustee Wendy Hefford, MA (Oxon), FSA, on 9th June 2022. Her connection with our School was very important to Wendy and she was a most generous benefactor and supporter throughout the years, most especially during the pandemic.

Wendy had been employed at the Victoria and Albert Museum from late 1960 to 1998. Working mainly in the Department of Textiles, she became the museum’s specialist in European tapestries and carpets, printed and woven textiles, with curatorial responsibilities for care of those collections, their storage and display; for informing the public, advising arts institutions, making judicious acquisitions, contributing to exhibitions, catalogues and collaborative publications, giving lectures and papers at international conferences, undertaking and publishing original research. Aided by a two-year Leverhulme Emeritus Fellowship, official retirement provided more time for research on a book, concerning her particular interest: English tapestry of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Work at the V&A has brought her many good friends, among them Janet Arnold, with whom she shared delight in all aspects of theatre, and Santina M. Levey, friend from the 1960s and fellow executor of Janet’s estate.