In the small Fife village of Coaltown-of-Wemyss lies one of those hidden gems you find so often in Scotland. The Wemyss School of Needlework occupies a small 19th century building on the Main Street, and although there is a hanging sign, you could easily walk past it.

If, however, you walk inside you will find a delightful collection of textiles and artefacts dating back more than 100 years. And, having been inspired by the beautiful pieces of work on display, you may well want to do some needlework of your own.

Luckily the school sells everything you might need. As well as Appleton’s wool (which has been available here since the 1870s) you can buy silk and cotton embroidery threads, needles, canvases, books and specially made kits, most of which are based on the school’s own historic designs.

The school is open to visitors three days a week, and current mistress, Fiona Wemyss, is happy to arrange group visits. There are classes to suit everyone, from absolute beginner to experienced, accomplished sewers.

You can start small with something like the camel, whose design was taken from a 1930s bedcover exhibited in the school and which includes every stitch.

“Perfect for training,” says Fiona. “You can then go on to a bigger project, perhaps involving more colours.”

Crewel work specialist, Phillipa Turnbull, who has been producing embroidery kits for more than 25 years, with designs based on the original needlework from British castles and country houses, recently held a class in Wemyss to showcase her latest kit, the Wemyss Stag, which comes from a 17th century pelmet she borrowed from the school.

Helen McCook from the Royal School of Needlework will be teaching this year, with classes on Mountmellick (a floral whitework embroidery originating from the Irish town of Mountmellick in the early 19th century), silk shading, crewelwork and silk and gold.

Maud Crawford from Dunblane has attended many of Helen’s classes and says: “Helen’s teaching is taking us to a higher level. There is always more to learn.”

Perhaps you don’t need to attend an actual class. The drop in stitch sessions on Wednesday mornings encourage you to bring in your UFOs, UnFinished Objects. Fiona says: “Bring any project you have been working on or dig out those projects you have been meaning to finish for a while. We’ll provide tea, coffee and lots of encouragement.”

The school was established in 1877 by Dora Wemyss, who had been inspired by the Royal School of Needlework in London and was determined to establish a similar school in Wemyss to improve the employment prospects of the daughters of local miners and farmers.

The skills they learned took them into service where they worked as ladies maids or seamstresses. The first mistress of the school was Jean Webster. She had lost a young daughter to meningitis and found comfort walking through the grounds of Wemyss Castle. After a chance meeting, Dora took her on as a sewing maid and quickly realised that Jean would be able to help her fulfil her ambition.

The school initially ran from a room in Wemyss Castle, but moved to purpose-built premises in 1880 where it has been ever since.

Care of the school has been passed down through the Wemyss family and the school’s seamstresses since the beginning. Fiona took the family’s role when her husband’s grandmother, Lady Victoria Wemyss, died aged 104, and worked with the mistress, Mary Birrell.

Mary, who ran the school for 42 years and retired in 2011, is the great-granddaughter of the first mistress, Jean Webster. Her grandmother and mother also attended the school.

She said: “Dora Wemyss took an interest in Jeannie and asked her to do some sewing at the castle to occupy her time. She was amazed at the quality of her work and sent her to the Royal School of Needlework.

The Wemyss School was started when she came back with six other girls who wanted to learn to sew. It became so well-known because everything had to be stitch-perfect.

“When World War II came, all the girls were taken away into other jobs. Lady Victoria was in charge at that time and my mother was still there. She used to take work home with her and that’s how I learned to sew.”

The scale of the work carried out can be seen in the old ledgers. The girls here made underwear, rugs, dining chairs, all sorts of things that went all over the world. They even mended a flag for the Royal Geographical Society that went to Antarctica in 1906 and again in the 1960s.

For the first time since 1936, an exhibition of the Wemyss School’s work is running outside the school itself. Fiona was delighted to be approached by post graduate students from St Andrews University and was happy for them to take whatever they wanted and use it however they chose.

The result was “Sewing Indpendence: Revealing the Wemyss School of Needlework”, a beautiful collection of embroidered works exploring the history and continuing legacy of the school that was on display at St Andrews Museum.

There are many associated events taking place, including a bus trip to Wemyss School of Needlework and family workshops.

For more information go to www.onfife.com/whats-on/detail/sewing-independence-relealing-wemyss-school-needlework