St Edmund Parish History Group, which is researching the Edmund Tapestry, delighted after responses from pupils of Beyton Secondary, Haverhill Secondary and Sudbury Girls High School
A town group researching ‘England’s Bayeux Tapestry’ is delighted after receiving some responses from students who worked on it.
On display at St Edmund Catholic Church, in Bury St Edmunds, the Edmund Tapestry depicts the Martyrdom of King Edmund, and is made up of nine panels.
It was created in 1970 by the pupils of eight schools; the St Edmund’s Parish History Group is working to find students who worked on it, and it told the Bury Free Press three people have been in touch.
The three women – one of whom now lives in Hampshire – who contacted the group attended Haverhill Secondary, Beyton Secondary and Sudbury Girls High School respectively, while the history group has also secured a picture from one of the tapestry events.
Their accounts are being followed up by RoseMarie Counihan, project leader, who said: “It will be fascinating to talk to them because they clearly remember doing the panels, some of them working on it during their break-times.
“Without the article in the Free Press we would probably never have known of them. This adds to the good progress which we are making.”
The other schools involved in its creation were Clare Secondary, The Girls’ County Grammar in Bury, Hadleigh Secondary and Silver Jubilee Girls Bury, while the nuns of the Convent of the Assumption, in Hengrave, also made a panel.
The picture shows a group of girls, who are believed to be from Sudbury, visiting St Edmundsbury Cathedral to view the tapestry.
John Saunders, group chairman, said of it: “This is really significant because the girls who are pictured might include other students who were involved in creating panels or who could remember the occasion - if so, we would dearly like them to get in touch.”
With the schools no longer, no records of the tapestry’s creation process remain. The history group’s research on it will form part of the annual Saint Edmund’s Day celebrations at the church.
Those who may have information on the Edmund Tapestry’s creation are welcome to contact John on 07794409793 or jes767894@btinternet.com.
