Audlem Community wall hanging goes on national tour

Many will have noticed that the beautiful Audlem and District WI wall hanging in the Church of St James is not on display as normal. That's because it has been chosen by the National Needlework Archive to go on a nationwide tour later this year.

The hanging will be away for a year in a Textiles Treasures exhibition at the International Craft and Hobby Fairs (ICHF) in the autumn of this year and Spring 2008. The venues for these fairs include Harrogate, Cardiff, Glasgow, Brighton and Birmingham. Before that programme gets underway, it will be displayed in July 2007 at the Women's Institute Denman College near Oxford.

The wall hanging was made in 1983-84 by a team led by Yvonne Keen, Ann Pearce and Jackie Woolsey but its production involved a great many people of all ages in Audlem and the surrounding district. Ann Pearce says they included pupils and staff of Audlem and Buerton schools and the residents of Thornton House. If people couldn't stitch, they gave fabrics while others contributed ideas that could be incorporated in the hanging which depicts the history of Audlem and District.

Almost as soon as it was completed, it was almost the star of the show when it was exhibited at the 'Life and Leisure' show at Olympia in London. There was even a photograph of it being admired by the Queen which added to the excitement of all involved.

If you have an opportunity, do go and see one of Audlem's finest artefacts, which was produced with the help of so many in the community, when it goes on national display.

This article is from our news archive. As a result pictures or videos originally associated with it may have been removed and some of the content may no longer be accurate or relevant.