Six-metre Coronation quilt now on display at Peterborough Cathedral

A special quilt celebrating the Coronation of King Charles III is to be displayed at Peterborough Cathedral this weekend (May 5-8).

The impressive tapestry, which is a whopping six metres long, is made up of 320 squares of fabric, all of which are unique.

The celebratory quilt was the brainchild of City College Peterborough. Sue Watsham, the college’s business operations manager explained how they settled upon the notion.“We decided to go with the community Coronation Quilt as we thought this would involve the learners, the community and anybody of any age could get involved with it.”

The ambitious idea was initiated three months ago when the college on Brook Street urged “schools, businesses and the community of Peterborough” to send in personalised 20cm by 20cm squares of stitchable fabric.

Contributors were asked to decorate their squares with designs associated with royalty, the King, their local community or simply something personal to themselves.

The college received a swift and enthusiastic response to its plea. However Sue and her colleagues were surprised to see help come not just from our region but from “all over the country.”

“We had a telephone call from people north of the border in Glasgow,” Sue remembers, “from a group who have connections to the Cathedral [saying] they would like to send squares.”

The deadline for submissions was March 31. After that, Sue says it was “all hands on deck to get them sewn together” in time for the finished quilt to go on display in time for the Coronation.

Sue is delighted with the result. “I’m so proud to be part of this community project,” she said, adding: “I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has been involved in creating this amazing piece of history.”

The quilt will take pride of place at the Cathedral for the entirety of the Coronation weekend. It’s future after that has yet to be determined:

“We’ve said it can go on tour,” Sue noted, “so if any schools or any other organisations want to get involved then they’re welcome to have it displayed after the Coronation on their premises.”