Project Report November 2025
November has seen several visits by members of the Upholders Company. Julian Squires, and his wife Susan, are continuing to make their tours of all the Cathedrals, where the teams are able to hear about his vision of a larger, joined up ‘Cathedral Workshop Group’ being established to support each other in the future, and to encourage the passing on of expert knowledge and collaboration. Julian has also been able to share more information about the way the exhibition of the Circle of Life project may work next year, and some of the logistics that would need to be considered by all of the Cathedrals to make this happen.
The Cathedrals’ Zoom Meeting with the RSN in October heard progress reports from all the groups. Appreciation was expressed to everyone for their commitment and enthusiasm towards this project, and it was somewhat comforting to hear other leaders admit 1) they were behind the deadlines set for them and 2) Opus Anglicanum embroidery is extremely slow to stitch, and that precision is essential. It would seem ALL teams agree on these two issues.
Our Senior Warden, Stephen Tanner and his Consort Nina, have also been making visits. Subject to election in January, Stephen will be Master at the time of the unveiling at the Guildhall next year. Both Stephen and Nina tested their skills on the visitors practice hoop and although Stephen’s abilities are normally accountancy related, he is now confident that in the event his Masters robes need attention he will be suitably competent to affect a repair.
Stephen also visited Winchester Cathedral to see their work on the Frippery panel, which is coming along nicely. Sadly, Anna had suffered a fall and had her right arm was in a sling, he wished her well on behalf of the Upholders and hoped she would soon be back in good health.
The cruise ships visiting Southampton docks are much reduced during the winter season, hence the visitors to Salisbury Cathedral are more local in nature and less numerous. The “Saintly Stitchers” team members have now finished their blue “Cathedral Panel” and so can concentrate on the more intensive and intricate Opus Anglicanum element.
Having completed the sometimes therapeutic, sometimes painfully laborious repetition of the background underside couching stitchwork, they are now engaged in the highly rewarding and interesting coloured detail.
A star stitcher on the practice hoop this month was the Dean of Salisbury The Very Reverend Nick Papadopulos, who made good his promise to come and try his hand.
Are there any other teams with photos of Dean stitchers?
The team at Liverpool Cathedral are very positive about their progress, whilst not on track with the original timeline, due to the frame difficulties, they are confident that they will have finished the panels within the allotted times. The Cathedral outline is now complete and on its way to the RSN.
Julian Squire has also visited the Cathedral and wrote “I had a very productive visit to Liverpool cathedral and enjoyed my time with the team of volunteers. Having corresponded with Vicky and Marion for over a year, it was good to finally meet up. They are making excellent progress now and the step change is evident between their previous (now “practice”) frame and the version they are working on. Like all the other Cathedral teams, they are all very excited about the prospect of seeing the finished work unveiled and to attending the luncheon at the Guildhall.”
Like the others, the Lincoln Cathedral outline panel has been completed, and they are now concentrating on the Upholstery Workshop panel using a range of stitches: split, long and short stitch, Bayeux stitch, satin stitch.
In further developments to share is the assigning of the pillar embroidery that will be used to join all the completed Circle of Life project panels, is to be undertaken by a group of six ‘apprentices’ from Lincoln Cathedral. These dedicated individuals who have been working under instruction from Jane Drummond at her home in preparation for the final task, which shall begin in early December once the materials and designs arrive.
Progress on both panels by the Lichfield team has continued at a steady pace with individuals taking panels home, working on them and then passing the frame on to another member of the team for them to work on.
The underside couching on the Mattress Making panel is almost complete, progress has been frustratingly slow due to the relatively large area to be covered in gold. At the same time two members of the team have worked in relay on the silver diaper work meaning this is also nearly complete.
Members of the team have been practising Bayeux stitch in readiness for the next large areas of work to be completed – the floor, the mattress and then the two figures are all in Bayeux stitch, some careful placement of the laid work will be needed as the figures are done in different directions to give the impression of fabric. Meanwhile work on the Cathedral Panel has progressed steadily and the panel is now completed and is on its way to the RSN.
Julian and Susan also visited the team at Lichfield. As well as showing their Circle of Life work, the team also shared some of the other work they do locally and asked many questions concerning the Circle of Life project.
Like many of the cathedrals, their workroom was not overly photogenic and some of the team were absent. Julian suggested that before they send the blue panel down to the RSN, they should all pose for a team photo with the work, in front of the cathedral. This will become their “publicity photo” and will be used in various ways in connection with the Circle of Life project.
The gold couched outline of Exeter Cathedral on blue silk has been completed. This panel gave the team challenges along the way, but a real sense of achievement and enjoyment, too. Having plunged all the loose gold threads as the final part of completion, Rhoda promptly arranged to deliver the panel, in person, to the RSN so they can begin the process of mounting all the Cathedral panels together.
The Undertaking Horse Drawn Hearse panel now shows significant progress. The gold underside couching for the background took longer than they had anticipated. However, they are now adding more colour to the panel: The Hand of God, all the leaves, acorns and (almost all) the branches on the right-hand side tree have been stitched and the grass section is well underway.
The Team continues to practise two of the main stitches required on this panel: Bayeux Stitch and Split Stitch. All remain very keen to practise and improve. Motivation levels are impressively high, notably with Arran, their young stitcher, who’s developing skills are quite remarkable. He really is benefitting from learning and improving the neatness and accuracy of his work and will surely go on to use them in the future after this project is over.
Sean Cambers, from the Events/Booking Office, also joined them to discuss how they might have a session of working in the Cloister to engage with the public.
The Derby team has continued to work on the Emlyn Goblet panel (the Goblet is also known as a Chalice) with Sue McIntyre making progress on stitching the grapes and the vine. Once she has finished this, the panel will be returned to Alison who will begin to work on the gold embroidery on the left-hand third of the panel.
The Emlyn Goblet is the symbol of the Livery’s Emlyn Society. The society is named after John Emlyn a wealthy Liveryman from the 15th Century who left a bequest to the Upholders. Membership of the society is open to any member of the Company who in their lifetime confirms that they have mentioned the Upholders Company in their Will (the amount left is immaterial, whether it a £1 or £1 million). Julian noted that it is only through legacies that the Livery grows. This finance enables the Company to expand and support charitable projects such as The Circle of Life. Anne Parkin is pictured holding up Julian’s Goblet alongside the embroidery panel for comparison.
Julian and Susan also meet with the Cathedral Chaplain (Alan), who provided them with an informative tour of the Cathedral, and the Cathedral Dean (Peter) as well as with team leader Janet Poole and the wider team of broderers.
Julian noted how fortunate Derby is to have such a dedicated and experienced team working together at the Cathedral.
I also had the opportunity to join Alison Andrews for her talk at Kibworth Library.
Alison gave a most engaging presentation talk about the work that they do at Derby Cathedral. She also brought along the Cope from St. Bartholemew’s Church, Elvaston, that the team had recently been working on. Sadly, the original gold silk fabric of the Cope had disintegrated, so they carefully took off the exquisite embroidery panels from the front and back. They used tiny stitches to reinstate the gold threads that had started to lift and covered them in conservation netting when reinstating them on the new gold damask fabric that formed the body of the Cope.
Alison also took along the Circle of Life Chalice panel to show the beautiful, detailed work. She explained how they came to be working with the Upholders Company, how the various Cathedrals were chosen, the time frame, the unveiling next year and encouraged the audience to visit the Cathedral once the Circle of Life goes on tour next year. The feedback from the library trustees was very positive and the audience were very keen to be able to visit the Cathedral to see the completed work.
Wendy Shorter Blake MBE
Project Report October 2025
In mid-September, Christopher Hayman and his wife, Karin, had the pleasure of visiting the Durham Cathedral Broderers team, led by Tracy Franklin. Christopher was truly amazed by both their expertise and the remarkable results emerging from their efforts. Seeing their work firsthand brought the entire Circle of Life Project vividly to life.
The final piece, shaped by Aidan Hart’s design and brought together through the combined work of cathedrals across the country and Fine Cell, will provide the Upholders Company with a remarkable legacy. Commemorating the 400th anniversary of our replacement Charter in 2026, it will be cherished for many years and decades to come.
Sharing a very enjoyable picnic lunch during which Christopher answered many questions about the Upholders Company. One broderer, Melita Butterell, had a particularly special connection to the submarine HMS Upholder, which is currently being stitched by St. Albans Cathedral’s team. Melita’s brother, Charles Rowntree was “Boat Manager” for the Upholder submarine, which means that he was responsible for commissioning all the systems onboard after first launch, and the subsequent sea trials and commissioning the submarine into the Royal Navy.
The first Upholder submarine was in Malta during the siege of 1941-1942 but sadly lost at sea, with all hands. It’s thought she may have hit a mine. The captain was awarded the VC posthumously for his work in the Mediterranean.
This photo shows the progress on the central shield. The tents are expected to be completed by the end of the month, followed by the lambs. The grass is now finished and fully outlined.
In early October the team at Winchester Cathedral were visited by John Darby and David and Patricia Ayers. David presented the team with a copy of his book “Fripperer to Upholder”. He and Patricia met several of the ladies involved in the work on the Circle of Life and other needlework projects associated with the Cathedral and were very interested in the work they were undertaking. Afterwards they visited the Cathedral enjoying some interesting conversations with one of the guides who was well informed on items of needlework in the Cathedral.
The Bishop’s cloak, which was shown in the last report, depicted 3 apples and multiple raindrops. David was able to explain that this was associated with Saint Swithun who was Bishop of Winchester, and the well-known association between Saint Swithun and 40 days of rain!! and further the possibility of the 3 apples representing the Father, Son and Holy Ghost!
At St Albans Cathedral work is progressing with members of the team taking the pieces home to work on. The covers that they had made to protect the pieces are excellent and are very helpful in protecting them during transit. The fabric is lovely, and the padding makes them feel as though they are wrapped in a duvet.
Visits to view the work undertaken by Fine Cell Work is not always possible, but thanks to Kate Nolan, she has sent us photos of the work in progress.
Two of the crosses are finished and two have approximately one-quarter left. They are finding that the long areas of couching are much quicker to stitch than the small areas which require short lengths and a lot of plunging (taking the threads to the back).
Since the last update the gold lettering on the motto panel has been completed. It required quite a lot of discussion regarding how best to achieve the curves and varying line thicknesses to retain the precision of the font. The solid blue background for the motto panel is proving time consuming as it is worked solely in long and short stitch. However, they have reached as far as the lettering and the gold of the lettering against the royal blue thread looks great.
I had the pleasure of taking the ladies from Lichfield Cathedral to lunch. Originally it was suggested that we had lunch before Christmas, but as they had been busy with the King’s visit to Lichfield Cathedral on the 27th and then the preparations for the Christmas Festivities, it was decided to bring the lunch forward.
Lunch was delightful and then we went back to the Cathedral where I saw the progress they have made on the Circle of Life project as well as some of their personal pieces.
When I was Master in 2020-22, I was only the third Lady Master of our Company. My strapline was “Lady Masters are a bit like buses; you wait 637 years and then three come along in quick succession”. As an upholsterer and soft furnisher, I made pin cushions in the shape of red double-decker buses to give as gifts to my speakers. So, I was delighted to give the final few to the ladies at Lichfield.
The King visited Lichfield Cathedral to see the “Jubilee Oak” table that is currently being exhibited there until Easter. This 13.2-metre-long bog oak table is magnificent. Discovered in 2012, the year of the Queen’s Jubilee, planks have been used to create this unique table. When I was there, they were setting up for a talk in the evening, but it is hoped that the ladies will be able to display some of their work on it during the February half-term period – watch this space.
Like so many of our broderer teams, St Paul’s are a hive of activity making robes, repairing garments including the hangers and covers. However, they are also making great progress on the Circle of Life project, which is now beginning to pop with colour. The St Paul’s Great Fire of London panel now has the gold sky in couching completed, the outline of St Paul’s itself and some of the buildings. The team is practicing stitching to create the water at the bottom of the panel with couching in “waves”.
The panel is now shaping into the exquisite background for the flames which will come as the top layer. The same couching stitch in gold will be used but with some clever tricks with colour, shape and direction will bring the flames to life.
Past Master Michael Gilham was invited to show his hand at making a stitch in the panel. He did this with some expert guidance from Christine Hopkins.
The team at Derby continue to be very busy on a wide variety of projects and on the Emlyn Chalice panel with work on the grapes due to be started using Stem Stitch in the brown wool thread.
Alison Andrews visited the Royal School of Needlework Workshop at Hampton Court Palace, delivering the completed outline in gold of Derby Cathedral. The team at RSN were thrilled with the result and the Derby panel was the first to be handed over.
Alison is continuing to work on her talk and presentation about the work undertaken by the Derby Cathedral workshop team for the visit to the New Library in Kibworth, Leicestershire on 26th November. She will also speak about the Company and the commissioning of Aiden Hart in designing the Circle of Life project, and the sewing process and history of Opus Anglicanum.
The Upholders’ Warden to the Trade, Kirsty Lockwood, made a visit to Liverpool Cathedral along with Aiden Hart, who designed the Circle of Life embroidery project, to see the progress they are making on the Upholders’ Salt panel. This very rare triangular William III salt is one of the most important treasures that is currently displayed at Salters’ Hall in the City.
Wendy Shorter-Blake MBE
Past Master 2020-22
Project Report September 2025
During September we begin to see the autumnal colours on the trees and hedgerows, and it is a delight to see some colour appearing in our Circle of Life panels. Although the gold and silver background work is beautiful, I know that many of our stitchers are pleased to be able to start working on some of the colourful detail of the panels.
Lincoln Cathedral has exciting news that through the Circle of Life project and the Lincoln broadcast, three apprentice embroiders have come forward to assist in the work ahead. To this end, Jane Drummond will undertake tuition of these individuals so that they will be able to take part in the Circle of Life project. The joy is that these individuals will then be able to take their skills back into their local churches to fill a much-needed gap in needleworking skills. In addition, the Circle of Life Project has generated further interest with a total of six more embroiders coming forward to be involved in embroidery projects associated with the Lincoln Cathedral Needlework Guild.
The St Paul’s team are progressing well, and their aim is to give every Broderer of St Paul’s the opportunity to execute some stitches on their Great Fire of London panel. It is exciting to see the completed golden sky and now the buildings are taking shape. The St Paul’s panel on blue silk has now been completed, and a close-up picture shows the detail and texture of the stitching.
The Southwell team continue to make good progress on the panels. They had to take a short break from Circle of Life project for the annual task of taking up the hems of choir cassocks for the new intake of small choristers! However, the building on the main panel is coming on, with the roof tiles being added, the colours are starting to come to life, and the laid work and satin stitch is much speedier than underside couching, they are finding it to be very satisfying work.
The Salisbury team has continued to make excellent progress with the backgrounds in the Opus Anglicanum panel now almost all completed, including the intricate tiling effect on a building roof. The detailing and colours now follow as the scene starts to come to life. They are really enjoying the development of the cradle-making panel. The colour makes the whole thing ‘pop’. They have also been sampling the upholstery tacks to make them lie well on the silk on the cathedral piece.
This month the cathedral management team have played a particularly active role in getting involved with the work. The Bishop of Salisbury The Right Revd Stephen Lake came to view the project and showed excellent craft skills when making a stitch in the practice hoop. The Cathedral Librarian, the suffragan Bishops of Sherborne and Ramsbury and the Cathedral Dean are all signed up to come and stitch next month, so the project has received excellent support and visibility throughout the organisation. In the meantime, they continue to progress well and the cathedral’s ‘Textile Tours’ are selling well with the tour companies. So, they are very busy stitching in public getting little done during these sessions. Not having a specific sewing area where we can do the work in the cathedral between sessions, they all take a frame home when needed to keep up with the schedule.
The Exeter Cathedral team are working on the ‘Undertaking’ panel that has a very large gold background area to be covered in underside couching. It is taking far longer to complete this underside couching than the ‘deadlines’ have allowed with 104 hours have been dedicated to this background work, which they hope to finish soon. The stitching on the Hand of God has been started and is nearing completion. This small area has already taken 6 hours! They began this feature to maintain the group’s motivation and to add some colour to our panel. The Cathedral Outline is also progressing well with only the Rose Window in the centre to finish. The team has found this a very satisfying part of the project.
They have four main stitchers, apart from the team leaders. Up to now it has been possible to have two people working on each panel. Once the Cathedral outline is finished two stitchers will need to continue practising their Bayeux Stitch and Split Stitch until they can work on the main panel. In the meantime, they have decided to embroider an owl using the Opus Anglicanum stitches that they need to practise. The ‘Owl’ design is a significant image from carvings in the Oldham Chapel within Exeter Cathedral so seemed an appropriate choice.
The Derby team hosted three days of the Cathedral ‘Heritage Days’ exhibition to display their work. The days provided an amazing opportunity to showcase the outstanding work undertaken by the team, with the exhibition entitled ‘Derby Cathedral Vestments Inspired by Architecture – 70 Years of Stitch’.
Various members of the team were on hand to talk to visitors about their work, in particular the intricate craftsmanship of the Opus Anglicanum embroidery that is used for the Circle of Life project. All of the pieces on display provided a celebration of craftsmanship and history as well as a chance to meet members of the team and see them working on pieces in real life.
Along with a display of the progress on the Circle of Life project there were the exquisite Chapter Window Copes, the Advent Laudian Altar Cloth, which had taken around 12 months of hand-stitching to complete by prior embroidery team member Dorothy Dixon in 1990/91. The Advent High Mass set of alter robes in a similar design were also displayed. These were made for Advent 2014 (with Advent being the four-week season in the Church leading up to Christmas). New Chapter robes, re-made in blue to replace previous robes in red. The new robes have button on hoods that can be removed so that robes can be washed. The new hoods have been made in keeping with the design of te Chapter Window Copes, representing the stained-glass windows of the Cathedral.
Derby Cathedral Embroidery Workshop have completed one of the two panels, and Alison Andrews delivered the panel to the RSN at their workshop at Hampton Court Palace.
Winchester Cathedral are progressing well with their Upholders’ Champion, John Derby, meeting several of the ladies involved in the work on the Circle of Life and other needlework projects associated with the Cathedral, including the refurbished Bishops cloak.
Fine Cell Work – The Master, Roger Wates, visited HMP High Down prison on 3rd September along with Katy Emck: Founding Director of Fine Cell Work, Kate Nolan: FCW Commissions Specialist and Terri Sidgwick: RCN Trained Volunteer who runs the embroidery group at HMP High Down. They had the frames and materials with them because there is insufficient space within the two-man cells to accommodate even the modest frame sizes they are using. Because the work can only be undertaken during regular visits the work needs to be set up quickly and got on with promptly as the two and a half hour sessions pass extremely quickly. Only two prisoners are involved in the Circle of Life project whereas other prisoners are doing different Fine Cell Work projects including work for interior designers and commissions from St. Paul’s.
CIRCLE OF LIFE LOGO COMPETITION
The Cathedral teams had a competition to design their own Circle of Life logo. The winner of the competition was announced at the RSN catch up meeting on 22nd September. Southwell‘s tutor, Emma Frith, created the winning design, which incorporates the outline of the finished piece with an embroidery needle crossing over an upholstery regulator in the centre. The inspiration for the design was the circle itself, taking the form of a wax seal. The gothic design of the circle is reminiscent of a cathedral rose window, and Emma wanted to bring in elements of the finished design, linking it to cathedrals, upholstery, and livery company heraldry.
Project Report August 2025
Despite August being the height of summer many of our sewing teams have been able to spend more time in their sewing rooms while the children are on holiday. As was the case with Lichfield who work in the song school and were able to work for the whole day on a Tuesday enabling them to make better progress with different people being able to stitch throughout the day. They have managed to maintain a steady rate of progress despite a number of the group being on holiday at various points. This has also been aided by individuals taking a frame home to do some stitching and being able to pass it on to another member of the group part way through the week so that they can do the same.
Lyn is making steady progress on the underside couching in gold on the Mattress making. Megan and Iva have been doing the silver background, taking it in turns to do a section. Helen and Alison have made steady progress with the couching on the Cathedral panel, and they have completed about half of it.
They have also enlisted the help of their youngest new stitcher, with a visit from the Precentor’s grandson who will be three at the end of October, he recognised the Cathedral outline – ‘Grandad’s Cathedral’. He had some sewing of his own to do and decided he was going to do a cathedral as well.
John Darby met the with ladies at Winchester Cathedral. He was shown a series of schedules and drawings that outlined the stages in the work. Progress is impressive and Winchester are on schedule alongside the work that they are doing on other needlework projects association with the Cathedral.
At Norwich work on the Armorial Shield and the Cathedral is continuing. Julian and Susan Squire visited and spoke to the group about plans for the eventual display and intended method of transformation from a 2m diameter embroidered panel to a funeral pall. They also discussed the lack of a spire on their Cathedral design. Julian took several photos of the Cathedral and discussed a revised design with the RSN, but after discussion with the volunteers about whether the addition of the spire and removal of cross from the Cathedral design was an improvement, it was agreed that it was not and they advised the RSN and Julian that they would not be pursuing the design changes after all. On balance, it had been a worthwhile exercise, and they will use the design and Julian’s photos when answering the inevitable question: ‘Where is the spire?’ if raised by any visitors.
I had the pleasure of joining Natalie McCurry to St Albans Cathedral, where Susan got me to try working the underside couching on one of the practice pieces. Hats off to all of our Cathedral stitchers who make it look so easy keeping the tension on the gold thread without showing the underlying core thread. In the meantime, Janet was busy working on the Cathedral piece.
While there, Susan also showed us gowns worn by the clergy that they work on these in the mornings. Rosemary was still working on one of the gowns that was causing her some issues in not lying flat, and I was able to help by showing them how to “slip tack” the pieces in place, prior to machining.
Alison Andrews, team leader at Derby Cathedral has been asked to give a talk about the work that the Derby Cathedral Embroidery Workshop do. She will also speak about the Company and the commissioning of Aiden Hart in designing the Circle of Life project, and the sewing process and history of Opus Anglicanum, with photos of their progress. The talk will take place at the New Library in Kibworth, Leicestershire on November 26th.
Liverpool Cathedral stitchers had a successful sew in public on 14th August with Beverley working on the main piece while Marion worked on the Cathedral outline. Vicky demonstrated on the practice piece, allowing adults and children to have a go – see the young man in the picture. This went down particularly well, and the Cathedral want them to continue doing this once a week until October.
Hannah Weston-Smith visited the Southwell Team along with her children on Tuesday the 26th of August. They spent some time speaking to the needleworkers and looking at the pieces they were working on. Many more of the team were practicing the different stitch patterns for the two panel. Angie was excited to show them the work she had done on the Livery panel having spent 25 hours top couching the centre background in silver silk thread.
Hannah learned the difference between several stitches and why the underside couching was such a painstaking process due to the accuracy of working through the same stitch hole in the canvas whilst maintaining a suitable tension – I know what she means. I’m not sure I was wholly successful with my practice piece!
Hannah was so impressed with the care and attention the Southwell needleworkers are giving to their panels and has invited the group to visit her creative arts school in the coming weeks, and they plan to take the panels to show them there.
The Salisbury team has continued to make excellent progress during the month of August. The cathedral panel is almost complete with just the “tack” crosses unfinished.
The team continues to work in public at the cathedral and has received a record number of visitors, including a second visit from their Upholders champion, who found them surrounded by interested tourists and would-be stitchers.
The Circle of Life project is featured in the September/October edition of Embroidery magazine. The initial piece in the magazine outlines the project scope and objectives, a second item in the New Year will cover the technical aspects in detail and in July there will be a feature concerning the unveiling event and three-year nationwide exhibition tour.
Project Report July 2025
As the summer is now in full swing, some of our wonderful stitchers are taking well deserved holidays, but the work is continuing and looking beautiful.
The St. Albans team had a visit from their Champion, Natalie McCurry on the 3rd July. Their room has big windows all around and high ceiling which gives a great working environment. They have had on-to-one in-person sessions with the Royal School of Needlework who helped them to get on track with the stitches. One of the stitches was still being practicing on a sample piece. However, a couple of the ladies have moved from the practice pieces onto the project.
The Salisbury team has continued to make excellent progress during the month of July. To maximise the benefit of The Circle of Life project, the cathedral has developed ‘textile tours’ which are sold as an extra option to tour companies and cruise ships (visitors then arrive from the ships in Southampton and along with Stonehenge, the cathedral is part of a daytrip). The guides show them the cathedral’s textiles, and the tour ends with the stitchers explaining the Circle of Life and inviting them to make a stitch and sign the visitor book for the project. Guest choirs have also been in abundance during the summer and included members of a male voice choir from Ohio, whose singers were just as keen to make their mark and complete a stitch on the visitor’s frame.
The Norwich team is continuing to work on the Armorial Shield and their Cathedral. However, there was some discussion with the RSN whether their Cathedral needs a spire added as it is important to the identity of the Cathedral and people of Norwich.
The Liverpool group are working on the gold underside couching have been concerned with some side pulling. The piece has been re-framed twice and there may be a problem with the frame. The RSN asked them to send back the panel and the frame (which may be replaced). These will be returned with a RSN visit in early August. Due to this, the visit planned for 30th July along with Aiden Hart was postponed until the frame is returned. However, the Cathedral outline is progressing well, and they hope to have that piece completed shortly.
In order to be seen by the public, on 14 and 21 August the team will be stitching in the main body of the Cathedral.
On the 8th July, I had the pleasure of visiting the ladies at Lichfield Cathedral to see how things were progressing. They have begun to work the gold thread on the skeleton design of the cathedral, but they have not yet started on the mattress panel. For the time being they are working on full size examples of the design to make sure they are happy with the threads and the stitches before they start on the panel itself. They wanted to make sure that the spire points are kept with sharp points and are not rounded.
I also had the pleasure of chatting to them about the Upholders Company and its history, and as they are working on the mattress making panel they were particularly interested to hear that the work of the upholsterer started in medieval times with cushion and mattress making, and I explained the use of the regulator to move to hair stuffings into the edges before stitching the edge firmly.
At Exeter the work has progressed with confidence. The couching on the Cathedral outline is straightforward but needs care and precision; the underside gold couching for the background of the main panel is challenging because it requires very close stitching and covers such a large area. Initially, they planned for two people to work on each panel at the same time, but this has not been possible on the Cathedral outline as the two stitchers’ hands have to work too closely together with knuckles clashing!
Their team leader, Diana, happened to visit Salisbury Cathedral on the day that their group meet. Consequently, she was able to discuss several aspects of the project and see what they have done. Their leader suggested that she join the WhatsApp Cathedral embroidery team leaders’ group, which she has now done, and which has already proved valuable in relaying information quickly and directly.
At Derby the work has continued apace on both the Emlyn Chalice panel, and the panel with the image of Derby Cathedral has been completed by Anne Parkin using three different gold threads. Anne estimated it had taken her approximately 32 hours to complete the panel.
Work on the Emlyn Chalice panel has progressed exceptionally well with Alison Andrews completing a significant portion of the stitching background around the chalice. Alison estimated that it had taken her approximately one hour to do one row up and one row down, and with around 120 vertical rows, it is estimated this had taken about 60 hours to date. Alison noted that she had added vertical pencil lines to the pattern every five millimetres to help maintain the stitching in a true vertical line and ensure the stitches didn’t veer off.
The panel is now being passed to Anne Parkin, who will work with a number of silver and green threads to complete the diamond diaper stitch that will be used for stitching the chalice.
The team said that they had found it quite humbling to be part of this project and to have members from the RSN sharing their skills and letting them be part of it. The team have been added to a WhatsApp group with the RSN, where they have been able to ask questions and get information.
Other members of the team were busy with ongoing conservation work and also new projects. Team leader Janet Poole was making a large cover for a very large table that would be used for the upcoming Brick by Brick festival: https://derbycathedral.org/brickbybrick/ an exciting festival being hosted by the Cathedral over the school holidays that would include a unique art installation and festival highlighting environmental sustainability through creativity and community engagement, using LEGO bricks. At the heart of the festival is a first-of-its-kind, model of Derby Cathedral and the surrounding city centre, crafted entirely from LEGO bricks, showcasing local landmarks and businesses.
The team are also preparing to showcase some of their work at the forthcoming Derby Cathedral Heritage Week: https://derbycathedral.org/events/events/heritage-open-days/ that will take place from Wednesday 17th to Saturday 20th September. The team will include the Circle of Life progress so far as part of their display.
Church News
There is also a lovely article in the Church News about the project:
Project Report June 2025
All the Cathedrals have now received their threads and stitching patterns. They have also been visited by a member of the RSN team. The teams were able to discuss the project and show some of their current work in progress, along with the practice pieces they have been doing in preparation for the panels.
The demand for the Derby Cathedral embroidery team’s skills is so great they are often not able to take on all of the commissions they are asked to do, and the team have had to balance the demands from their existing workload with the project plan for the Circle of Life project. The team have divided up the responsibilities for the project into distinct sections with timelines, giving them all clear areas of responsibility on the sections that need to be embroidered. The team noted that some of the stitches were incredibly intricate and difficult to learn but having access to the online videos from the RSN had proved to be very helpful for reference.
The Exeter team started their meetings every Thursday from 1.30 – 4.30pm. The project was discussed and the task ahead was greeted with considerable enthusiasm, as well as a little trepidation! All the necessary kits of materials and threads have been received from the RSN, along with detailed stitch patterns, instructions and deadlines for completing each section in order. Regular emails have also given them extra information about stitching techniques, direction of stitches and how many strands of different threads to use etc. All their stitchers have grown in confidence and skills, and they realise the importance of discipline and precision.
The Lichfield team have then been able to start laying down some of the underside couching on their panel on Mattress Making and the couching on their cathedral panel. The early stages have been rather slow and tentative, but they hope to speed up as they gain confidence in what they are doing and are able to spend more time on the project over the summer.
Fantastic progress has been made at Lincoln on the Upholder panel with Jane Drummond working the extensive background stitching. Amy Turner, has also completed the stitching of the three curved windows in the Upholders panel employing the same gilt underside stitching in Hungarian diamond stitch used for the background. Amy had the privilege of working on the Anointing Screen used in the Coronation of King Charles III and recently graduated from the RSN.
Mimi Chan also undertook the fine linework of Lincoln Cathedral’s Front. Mimi’s steady hand has produced the exquisitely couched double lines of gilt thread.
Drawing in new members like Amy and Mimi to the Circle of Life project has been a wonderful opportunity to develop their skill set whilst working on an incredible legacy project.
The team at Salisbury has made excellent progress during the month and is ahead of schedule in completing the work. They enjoyed a visit from Liveryman Anna Smith, who as a fellow textile professional and embroidery specialist had plenty in common to talk about with the Salisbury stitchers.
The local and regional media has shown an increasing fascination with the project : https://www.facebook.com/ThatsTVWiltshire/videos/1221185215937245?locale=en_GB
The Southwell team have started work on their panel using the gilt passing thread and the technique called underside couching. Their team leader, Emma, had discovered an issue with using the passing thread. The stitch requires continuous use of the thread rather than cutting lengths and was concerned it would start to twist and so created a clever contraption which their Champion called the Frith Spindle Stopper. This connects to the slate frame allowing the reel to move freely and the frame can be moved without the thread becoming twisted. Emma has kindly shared this idea with the other Cathedral team leaders and even made the felt stoppers to send out.
The St Paul’s team work in a cool room above the Whispering Gallery. Much progress has been made on the two pieces they are working on. There is an air of confidence as the layered stitching is taking shape into the panel depicting the Great Fire of London with flames covering buildings. The first focus is on the golden sky with intricate couching stitching.
Project Report May 2025
Early in 2025, members of the Company started working with 12 English Cathedrals on an ambitious project that is due to be unveiled in July 2026 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the granting of our Royal Charter in 1626.
Working with the Royal School of Needlework (RSN) and groups of volunteer stitchers at: Derby, Durham, Exeter, Lichfield, Lincoln, Liverpool, Norwich, Salisbury, Southwell Minster, St. Albans, St. Pauls and Winchester Cathedrals, as well as two advanced stitchers from Fine Cell Work, the Upholders will produce the most significant piece of Opus Anglicanum embroidery since the Fishmongers Pall in 1530.
The project aims to raise the profile of the volunteer embroiderers creating and caring for historic ecclesiastical textiles, and to encourage more embroidery enthusiasts to volunteer with their local Cathedral group.
‘Opus Anglicanum’ is the Latin for ‘English work’ and refers to a highly prized style of medieval English embroidery, particularly popular in the 13th and 14th centuries. It was known for the intricate designs in gold and silver threads on velvet or linen.
A group of Upholders’ Champions will be meeting up with the stitcher over the next few months offering support and encouragement in the work that they are doing, often over tea and cakes. Until recently the stitchers have been practicing their stitches while they waited for the RSN to send them their stitching patterns and threads, which they have now all received.
Each Cathedral will be producing two pieces: one will be a skeleton image in gold of their own Cathedral and another panel that will depict aspects of the Upholders’ history. Several of the teams have already been in touch with their counterparts at other Cathedrals and have been active in promoting their work on the Circle of Life project.
Over the next few months, we plan to highlight the work of the individual Cathedrals.
In addition to the main work on a slate frame, the team has also set up a practice hoop where visitors can attempt the ancient Opus Anglicanum stitches themselves and then sign a visitors’ book to record their thoughts. The first participant was a 9-year-old girl, followed by a group of 16 French students.
The team at Norwich Cathedral are enjoying the challenge of reviving old stitching skills such as the underside couching and gaining confidence in gold work. Like all the other Cathedrals, they have had online tutoring from the RSN, have completed some practice pieces and received the outlines and threads for their individual parts of the project. Norwich is working on the Upholders Armorial Badge featuring the lamb on a cushion under a sparver and the stitching pattern for their Cathedral’s outline.
Armorial Badge outline and threads to be used Laying gold thread over the Cathedral design
The team hosted a display of their work within part of Derby Cathedral between Monday 12th and Saturday 17th May to celebrate that the Cathedral has had an Embroidery Workshop for 70 years. Team leader, Janet Poole, said: “Derby Cathedral Workshop were thrilled to be chosen to help in this special piece of embroidery work. We hope this publicity will encourage others to come and join us to help and learn so that this valued work may continue”.
Currently four of the stitchers from the Derby team are working on the Emlyn Goblet design, that includes a range of traditional craft techniques last used on such a scale over 500 years including: gilt underside couching for the background, silver metal couching in brick and diaper pattern, underside and couched patterns with silk, long, short, satin, stem and split stitches as well as Bayeux stitch.
The visit to the St Paul’s Broderers’ Team on Tuesday 13th May coincided with the first stitches being executed on the St Paul’s panel that depicts the Great Fire of London with flames covering buildings. The original St. Paul’s Cathedral was lost in the Great Fire, as was the Upholders’ Livery Hall. Like many of the Cathedrals, the St. Paul’s workshop is in the “rafters” of St Paul’s Cathedral in the Triforium, just below the Whispering Gallery. A quiet yet bustling space with numerous projects in progress from the latest robe in gold and red for the Bishop of London to making padded covers for the hangers used for the clergy robes. The team is firmly locked away from the endless stream of tourists through the Cathedral and everyone is excited about being part of such a unique project.
First lines of stitching
At present the Lincoln Cathedral Needlework Group, comprising of nine volunteer stitchers, meet once a week on a Tuesday working from 9 to early afternoon with a short break for tea and a light lunch. Iain Stephens, our Upholders’ Champion, travelled to Lincoln on the Bank Holiday Monday, staying overnight before meeting up with the team leaders over a meal at Café Zoot and then the rest of the team on Tuesday morning, who showed him their practice sampler pieces.
Jane Drummond, team leader of the Lincoln Cathedral group for the project said, “We are honoured to be part of this important national initiative to create a historically significant masterpiece and hope that it will inspire those with a passion for embroidery and textiles to learn more.”
As well as working on the skeleton of Lincoln Cathedral, the lightly drawn design entitled ‘Upholders at the Workbench’ was inspired by an etching, the ethos of ‘Think thee on ye frame and thy future fellow upholsterer’.
Lincoln Cathedral also has a dedicated page for the Circle of Life Embroidery Project: https://lincolncathedral.com/latest-news/lincoln-cathedral-volunteers-taking-part-in-historic-opus-anglicanum-embroidery-project/
The Worshipful Company of Upholders of the City of London 