The motivating principles that dominated the Wardle family's drive for perfection were the understanding of materials, the role of the designs they used and the perfection of lasting colour. While this was acknowledged in their day it is only comparatively recently that we have come to comprehend exactly what that meant in practice. The significance of fresh evidence found in Britain and India in the twenty-first century illuminates what was achieved in the nineteenth century. This gives this history a new vitality as well as indicating why it still matters. It is now no longer an untold story but a strong, evidence-based account of a remarkable time and place.

Thomas and Elizabeth Wardle's children continued to produce renowned textiles and the Leek Embroidery Society was acknowledged for its fine work well into the twentieth century. Dyeing and printing proceeded at the Churnet print works for a range of well-known clients, including Bernat Klein, Laura Ashley and Jacqmar, until 1968, when what had become the largest family-run dyeing and printing company in Britain was taken over by the multinational giant Courtaulds. It is likely that it was at that juncture that many important documents relevant to this history were lost, as hardly any company records have survived. In 2009, the centenary of Thomas Wardle's death, four exhibitions in noted venues celebrated his life, along with lectures, publications, walks and talks. They shone a light on the wide range of his achievements for the first time. What was not known at that point was that there was still more to discover, as some amazing finds would soon reveal.

As related in earlier chapters, Thomas Wardle was someone whose creative energy and commitment attracted a great deal of talent to his home town. He achieved astounding success in all that he set out to do, mastering difficult raw materials and publishing numerous learned accounts of his research.