Winchcombe St Peter's Church, Altar Frontal

Altar cloth attributed to Catherine of Aragon, at St Peter's Church, Winchcombe, England. Altar cloth attributed to Catherine of Aragon, at St Peter's Church, Winchcombe, England.

St Peter's Church in Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, England, is one of the major wool churches in the Cotswolds. It houses an altar cloth that has been linked to the first wife of Henry VIII, namely Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536), who is thought to have stitched the cloth while she resided at nearby Sudeley Castle.

Sudeley Castle is also the place where Catherine Parr (1512-1548), Henry VIII's sixth and last wife [Catherine of Aragon was her god-mother], died and was buried).

This cloth, which was in use as altar frontal until 1872, was made of embroidered panels with the representations of saints and patrons. These panels were taken from fourteenth century ecclesiastical vestments. Catherine of Aragon is supposed to have sewn the panels together and to have added extra embroideries, such as a pomegranate, which was the symbol of Catherine. The embroideries are contained within a fishbone-style, Tudor-period border. The alter cloth has been restored by the Royal School of Needlework.

Digital source (retrieved 28 October 2016).

WV

Pomegranates placed on the tomb of Catherine of Aragon, Peterborough Cathedral. Digital source of illustration (retrieved 28 October 2016).

 

 

 

 

Last modified on Friday, 09 December 2016 19:02