Anyone who has been dipping into my blog posts for a while will know that I do like a little bit of history, especially history on my doorstep. On Thursday I accompanied a friend on a walk around a local village called Odiham*. She had heard of a recently unveiled embroidery and thought it would interest me. We alighted from the bus and walked past All Saints Parish Church to the old Bridewell building that now houses the library.
Amongst all the historic buildings in Odiham there are the ruins of castle built by King John between 1207-1214. It was from this castle in May 1225 that King John rode to Runnymede on the River Thames to sign the Magna Carta*. To commemorate this national 800th anniversary the Odiham Society commissioned an embroidery to depict the signing of the Magna Carta and many significant local events up to modern times. The Odiham Embroidery* was designed by a local woman, Mary Turner, and stitched by a large number of local volunteers. The quality is outstanding and the design provides a fascinating history lesson as well as capturing the rural setting of the village.
After enjoying the details of the Odiham Embroidery we continued our walk before heading to the main street in search of a pot of tea and a spot of lunch.
On the way back to the bus stop we had time to look inside the Church.
I can’t help getting excited about history when it really so visible around us and I love that so many old buildings are still very much in use today.
I have spent a bit of time at my sewing machine too, I promise I’ll get back on subject soon! And there’s been an exciting development in my quest to sell some of my quilts… And we’ve had the fun of three family birthdays to celebrate in the space of nine days… And days out… And the building work here is progressing…
Allison
*Find out more: King John and Magna Carta; Odiham village; the Odiham Embroidery
Hi Alison , like yourself I love history and really enjoyed seeing the embroidery and the village through you. A fantastic embroidery to celebrate the Magna Carta . One of the things I love about England is the sense of history on the doorstep . In NIreland we have history and some to spare , beautiful scenery but not the architectural beauty of english villages .
Thanks for looking by Helen.
I love history too. I enjoyed seeing the Odiham embroidery.
Looks like you two had a very interesting day ! So Good of you to share it with us. I have really enjoyed looking at your pictures. I had to smile when reading that it was commemorating the 800th anniversary… my province is 105 years old this year – we’re still in our infancy !
I’m glad you enjoyed the post Colleen, I was thinking of you when I included the photo of the tractor busy ploughing ☺
lol, we’re a long way from fall field work – it’s been raining these past few days 🙁