Grenfell Mission

Grenfell Mission is a medical and religious mission founded by Sir Wilfred Grenfell in the late 19th century in St. Anthony, Newfoundland and Labrador.

The purpose of the mission was to help the poor with food, clothing and medical care, as well as improving their global economic conditions. The mission was created by Grenfell and modelled after a Boston hospital founded and managed by Jessie Luther.

Grenfell Mission was famous for its burlap rugs, which were sold to hospitals in the United States and Britain. Encouraged and promoted by Dr.Grenfell, the rugmakers of the mission used designs created by Mrs. Grenfell. Beginning in the early 20th century, the International Grenfell Association (IGA) hired Jessie Luther of Providence, Rhode Island, to set up and direct the Grenfell Industrial Department. Grenfell established retail shops in England and in several U.S. cities. These shops were staffed by volunteers and augmented by travelling salesmen. Following the death of Dr. Grenfell and the surge in machine-made rug production, the business gradually failed.^[1] Grenfell rugs remain highly prized by folk art collectors.

In 2008 Grenfell Handicrafts, formerly known as Grenfell Industries, appointed a new 'Artist in Residence' by the name of Christian Corbet who created several new and unique mats and rugs based on his abstracted paintings.

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