Handiwork For The Knees

Lets pop back to Great Abington church which we visited on a walk last week...

It's a lovely old church - some of it dating back to the thirteenth century - and it's in a pleasant situation, just across the winding River Granta from its sister church in Little Abington.

Inside it's surprisingly light, the result of the large clear windows. Apart from one large monument of a knight with his sword there wasn't much that caught my eye till....

....I looked down. I often wonder at the workmanship involved carving the wood and stone but, lets face it, I wouldn't have a clue how to do any of it. But I do know a little about these as my mother embroidered several for her church in Grantchester and I designed one for her and even had a little go at the stitching. 

Here's a selection made, not by my mother, but by the parishioners of St Mary's, Great Abington.....

Besides the ones illustrated here there were also many to the memory of departed loved ones. The proper name for them is "hassocks" but everyone nowadays seems to call them "kneelers", as that's what they are used for - protecting your poor old knees from the cold, hard floors when kneeling to pray.  

There are many long hours of patient and precise stitching on display here.

Take care.