Altar Rail Kneelers
The
village of Pettistree near Wickham Market marked the New Millennium in
various ways and Mrs Patience Maxwell, who was leaving the village and
moving to Oxfordshire to live nearer her family, offered to pay for the
production of an altar rail kneeler. This was to replace a very dilapidated
kneeler that had been in place for many years. The Maxwell family had been
members of the Church of St Peter & St Paul since 1938 when Patience's
father-in-law moved to Pettistree Grange and she hoped that the new kneeler
would be a unique way to mark their time in the village and the turn of the
new century.
The Parochial Church Council was pleased to support the project and the intention was to commission drawings to depict Suffolk flora and fauna throughout the year.
Michael
Coulter the well-known local artist was asked if he could help and he
produced four panels, to represent each quarter of the year with each
showing a local church as well as diverse wildlife of the season. A smaller
drawing depicted the 'Pettistree tree' in the four stages of the year
flanked by St Peter and St Paul and designed to be placed centrally at the
altar rail. Pettistree Church is particularly grateful to Michael Coulter as
he refused to accept payment for the drawings but instead gave Pettistree
permission to convert them into tapestries for the kneelers.
Viv Turnbull a very accomplished artist and tapestry maker spent a great deal
of time transferring the paintings to canvas, working out which colour wool
to use and producing very detailed kits for the work. She then taught and
encouraged several ladies from the church to tackle the work, most of whom
had never done this type of tapestry before, as it is finer more detailed
work than standard church kneelers. Viv herself completed one of the
seasonal panels and the Pettistree tree centre section, while nursing her
terminally ill husband. She said that having the work to do was therapeutic
and she has continued to put an enormous amount of effort into completing
the whole project so that the dedication could take place on the feast of
St. Peter & St Paul, and before leaving Suffolk to live nearer her daughter.
Once
completed the panels were framed by more tapestry work and carefully sewn
over the kneeler interiors. All the materials used are designed to be long
lasting and the insides are five thicknesses of carpet underfelt. Much
needed skilled assistance was given by the Wickham Market carpet fitter who
spent a great deal of his free time accurately cutting the underfelt so that
the kneeler bases were relatively simple to construct.
The
set were finally finished on July 3rd and on Sunday July 4th 2004 during
Evensong the Archdeacon of Suffolk, The Venerable Geoffrey Arrand dedicated
the kneelers for use in the church. The rain of the late afternoon had
cleared in time and the congregation were able to admire the kneelers and
congratulate the workers while enjoying a glass of wine and the Hot Dogs
that were provided in the churchyard.
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