10 years of needlework in Bridgham

A TAPESTRY begun in celebration of the millennium is ready to hang after more than 10 years of needle work.

A TAPESTRY begun in celebration of the millennium is ready to hang after more than 10 years of needle work.

The village of Bridgham, near Thetford, took on the task to create a 6ft by 2ft wall hanging depicting five historic houses, back in the year 2000.

Since that time, between 30 and 35 residents have taken part in the tapestry and newcomers and long-term villagers alike each spent several weeks at a time completing parts of the stitching.

The work depicts a council house from 1936, the old Red Lion Pub from 1680, an 1810 manor house, old school house from 1750 and a village house from 1750.

Organiser Maureen Hilton, 71, of The Street, Bridgham, who came up with the idea of a tapestry as a way of including the entire village, said: “People did it because they wanted to.

“I went to go and ask all the new people that came into the village if they if they wanted to do some stitching and so it's brought them into the community.”

The tapestry was then sent to the Royal College of Needlework at Hampton Court Palace to be cleaned and stretched and will now be hung in the village hall when permission is granted.

“It's incredible and it's really beautiful,” Mrs Hilton added. “It's absolutely time consuming tough and to complete a 2in square can take an hour-and-a-half.”