Historic Higham Ferrers 'mapestry' undergoes restoration
Higham Ferrers's own Bayeux Tapestry is back in the hands of the retired teacher who designed it.
Known as the historic town's ''mapestry'' as it features centuries old houses in the medieval market square and other ancient landmarks, the fabric and thread artwork, created from applique and various embroidery techniques and millions of stitches, took several years to make,
The 1.5- metre long mapestry was the brainchild of former teacher Faye Caddick, who with seven friends- all known as the Material Girls- fashioned the unique wall hanging.
''Its our own Bayeux Tapestry as we made it exactly the same way as that famous work: first we made seperate pieces of the story and then each section was sewn onto a fabric background'' Faye explained.
It was initially displayed in the town's local library, but when that closed in 2019, a few years after the mapestry was unveiled, it was decided to move it to the local Henry Chichele Primary School.
''But after five years hanging in the school, we decided the mapestry was in need of repair,'' said Liz Barnatt, chairperson of the Higham Ferrers Tourism Committee, which is supporting the the restoration and framing initiative, which is also backed by Higham Ferrers Town Council and the Friend's of St Mary's, a secular organisation dedicated to preserving historic buildings and the town's heritage for future generations.
Brenda Lofthouse and Carol Fitzgerald , a chairperson and and secretary of the Friend's of St Mary's, collected the mapestry from the school and soon afterwards, Fay started work once again on the mapestry.
As all the other material girls have moved away from the area, local French teacher, Therese Easter voluntered to help.
Fay recalled that after she had retired from the Rushden School for Girls ( now the Rushden Academy) she used to stroll around the town looking at the historic buildings.
That interest and knowledge came in useful when the Material Girls got down to working on the tapestry.
''As well as my local knowledge, we spent a lot of time studying the buildings: the type of stonework and the windows,'' she recalled.
With the design in her head, Fay had to come up with a way of explaining it to the rest of the Material Girls.
Initially we took photographs of the buildings and landmarks and these formed the outline of what we wanted to do.
Although we only met up in the library for two hours a week, everyone was so keen that the Material Girls all worked on the project from home.
''We had to find the right pieces of material, which were donated by ourselves and the public,'' Faye said.
Asked about the stand -out trees in the mapestry, Faye explained they had been made from 1960's shaggy rugs.
The mapestry got bigger and bigger over time, as people would come into the library where we were working and would suggest places and features to add to it.
It took us nine months to sew the pieces of the story onto the background.
The repairs are being carried out in the Town Council- backed community and well- being hub at the back of the old library building.
Faye and Therese have a September deadline to finish the work so it can go on display at the Northamptonshire Heritage Forum History Day in Higham Ferrers on Saturday 18th October.
It is hoped the mapestry will find a permanent home in a prominent local building, where it can be viewed for all to see.
''We plan to frame the mapestry in perspex glass to protect it'' said Liz Barnatt.
Town Clerk , Alicia Schofield said: '' The Mapestry is an important and beautiful community fabric artwork and we are pleased to be able to host Fay and Therese at the Community Library and Wellbeing Hub as they undertake their skilled repair work''.
The Bayeux tapestry- which depicts the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 - hangs in the Bayeux museum in France. The fragile tapestry is also due to undergo preventive conservation and enhancement. The museum will close later this year and a new museum, featuring the Bayeux Tapestry, will re-open in 2027