Warminster embroiderer joins nationwide revival of medieval stitching craft

A Warminster woman is helping bring medieval embroidery back to life as part of a major nationwide project involving cathedrals across the country.

Lesley Fudge, a member of Salisbury Cathedral’s ‘Saintly Stitchers’, is contributing section of textile masterpiece entitled The Circle of Life.

They are using techniques inspired by Opus Anglicanum, a fine needlework style popular in 13th- and 14th-century England.

Volunteer embroiders at 12 cathedrals across the country are working on the project.

Lesley, team leader at Salisbury Cathedral, said, “I had been a ‘Saintly Stitcher’ for about a year when a past tutor, and now friend and mentor from Durham Cathedral, emailed me to ask why Salisbury Cathedral was not taking part in The Circle of Life project.

“I knew nothing about it and, to cut a long story short, I ended up leading the team undertaking this wonderful project using Opus Anglicanum techniques. This will be the most significant piece of Opus Anglicanum embroidery produced since the Fishmongers’ Pall in 1530, and we can’t wait to see the finished piece next year.”

The Circle of Life project, sponsored by the Worshipful Company of Upholders, aims to promote the craft and encourage more enthusiasts to join local cathedral groups.

Lesley, a former nurse, said, “We have a lot of visitors from all over the world, and we work in public on Monday afternoons in St Lawrence Chapel in the south transept of Salisbury Cathedral.

“Visitors are able to make a stitch or more, using a 13th-century technique called underside couching with metallic threads. The piece they create will, along with a journal of progress and the team’s samplers, become part of the cathedral’s archive.”

Locally, Lesley is well known for her work to preserve historic buildings and artefacts. She has previously undertaken repairs at Warminster’s St Lawrence Chapel and St Aldhelm’s Church in Bishopstrow, and for Revd Sue Foster at the Minster Church.

Once completed next April, The Circle of Life will be unveiled at the Guildhall in the City of London and then exhibited at venues around the country, including the participating cathedrals such as Salisbury.