Hilary Bourne was born in Guntakal, British India (now India) in 1909. When she was three her family immigrated to Ditchling, Sussex, England where she learned spinning and dyeing from a neighbour. In 1936, Bourne met the designer Barbara Allen and the two established a successful business, becoming pioneers of modern textile design, with clients including the Royal Festival Hall on London's South Bank and Heathrow Airport. Bourne eventually founded the Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft in 1985, after Allen's death, creating an important platform for often neglected British crafts, both historic and contemporary.

Listen to her story here or read the full biography on the BURU database: https://www.buru.org.uk/contributor/hilary-bourne-