U3A Millennium Tapestry

The idea for a Millennium Tapestry for Market Harborough was introduced to the Market Harborough U3A at a general meeting in the early part of 1997, and was received with interest and enthusiasm by many of the members. A steering group was set up with Anne Allen as co-ordinator. What followed was to be three and a half years of hard work, with a deadline for getting the project finished before the Millennium year ran out.
The object of the Tapestry was to portray a snapshot of the town at the turn of the Millennium, along with its links with the past.

Getting the project off the ground
Although around 46 needlewomen were to put in a tremendous amount of work throughout the project, much more was to be done to ensure the success of the whole venture. A team of designers, Anne Allen, Marjorie Clements, Sheila Pendered and Angela Newport began thinking about content, size, shape and selecting a palette of colours from a large range of wools. Over 400 photographs of the town were taken by the U3A Photographic Group. There was also the cost to think about, and Cyril and Eve Pigott worked tirelessly to get financial support from local firms and businesses. This along with grants, Lottery funding and many fundraising events like coffee mornings, sponsored walk etc. helped fund the project. Right: Jane Barrows working on a panel.

Working at home
Whilst participating members worked at home on the panels that were to form the tapestry, both the design work and later joining together took place at the home of Angela Newport. A wall in a spare room was used to display and manipulate the designs and in the final phase, four large tables were brought in to support the tapestry whilst the joining took place. During this time, the venture was to take over both the home and lives of herself and her husband Frank, who was Vice Chairman of the Harborough branch of the U3A at the time. Anne Allen kept a very precise diary of the development of the tapestry, and John Pendered photographed each finished panel as well as the completed, mounted tapestry for the records.
Above: Margot Sheppard working on the border.

The finished work goes on display
On the evening of the 15th November 2000, an Unveiling Ceremony was held at the Pen Lloyd Library, where a hundred or more invited people attended along with town dignitaries, the local press and a film crew. A speech was given by Cyril Pigott, and the unveiling was carried out jointly by Anne Allen and Angela Newport, who were each presented with a framed photograph of the finished work.

Right: Unveiling Ceremony with Anne Allen (Project Coordinator), Roy Vickers (HDC Chairman), Angela Newport, John Howard (LCC Chairman) and Peter Richardson (former Senior Group Librarian)