DELICATE
restoration work is about to start on a piece of Cricklade
history dating back to the start of the century.
Work will soon begin on a fragile embroidered altar front which
was given to St Mary's Church, Cricklade, in 1905.
The intricate cloth, measuring 7ft by 3ft, took its designer,
Cicely Laura Butt-Miller several years to embroider and includes
the Snakehead Fritillary as one of the main motifs.
Although the special cloth still |
retains
the glossy colours of 90 years ago, it now needs to be rebacked.
After advice from a member of the Royal School of Needlewomen, a
restoration group of four paishioners will cut the design from
its original silk with surgical scissors and transfer it to a
new backing.
The work, which is being carried out by Bernadette Yarnold, of
Ashton Keynes, Pat Charlton and Helen Lee, of Cricklade, and
Mary Pugh, of South Cerney, will take |
nine
months to complete.
Mrs Yarnold said: "We want to restore the embroidery
because it is a lovely piece of work, it took the lady who made
it some considerable years to create it."
A frame for the embroidery is being made by Friends of St Mary's
chairman, Tim Cheesman and will be set up in a room at Brook
House in the High Street, Cricklade --- the former home of
Cicely Laura Butt. |