Led by Mrs. Edna Belson a group of Bradworthy stitchers was formed to make kneelers for the Parish Church in Bradworthy. This was Edna's dream and her home became the headquarters for the project. This being an Altar Rail Kneeler, to complement the individual cushions in the pews. Mrs Scilla Edwards was invited to help, advise and monitor the project. A group of enthusiasts was formed, not necessarily churchgoers, and once the money was raised we were ready to proceed, and designing began. Mike Wade and Carolyn Last took photos of carvings and windows around the Church. These photos were sent off to Edna's brother Douglas Reeve in Nottingham, who drew up shapes and designs for tapestry work.
At the Altar rail there is a short kneeler of nearly a metre, which is lifted out to give access to the Altar table. On either side is a very long kneeler of about three metres.
Edna and Eileen Lynch went into the Church with fabrics of varying colours in order to select a range of blending wools. At this time the superb red carpet had not been donated. To mirror the Betts window near the font, three shades of blue were chosen to be the basic theme, plus a rope border of blue and gold.
At last the canvas, wool, needles and work frames were assembled. The designs were marked out on the canvas and the pieces were taken home ready for stitching. Peter Lynch made embroidery frames for fixing the canvas onto while being stitched. Early in 1998 we looked towards the Millennium and made it our finishing goal.
One stitcher who must be singled out is Hazel Marshall. She had time on her hands after retiring from Waterland Park Stud and volunteered help after reading the Bradworthy News article of April 1998. She overtook all other stitchers and was soon busy at finishing abandoned work and unpicking and redoing mistakes. Her name is on at least 7 kneelers.
This is a list of other people who completed a motif
Boyton Upholstery of Thornbury undertook the upholstery and the Kneelers came home to Bradworthy on 20th March and our Project was complete.
There are two groups of people not mentioned in the above, who we would like to thank.
Group 1 - We needed boards to pin our canvass onto for stretching square. Tom Cann and Alan Balsdon both cheerfully and willingly found what we needed. The Memorial Hall kindly let us use their store cupboard to house the completed kneelers for a month.
Group 2 - Probably the most vital section of our village. These are the ones who opened their purses and helped to finance the project. As well as massive private donations there was a gift from the Carnival Committee, a grant from the Parish Council, and a coffee morning at Edna Belson's home in the Square. We do not need any more money.