Rotary’s Northumberland Community Tapestry
This project is a major community arts initiative co-ordinated by nine of the Rotary Clubs of Northumberland and inspired by the Great Tapestry of Scotland. It aims to tell the story of the county’s history, culture and landscapes through a series of large, embroidered panels organised by the Rotary Clubs in Northumberland.
The Tapestry then, is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom and is normally used to depict and create images or pictures rather than patterns. However, in this case, each Rotary Club will co-ordinate the production of a single large ‘embroidered tapestry’ which will eventually be displayed with the work of other clubs in the area to form one big Northumberland story.
It is hoped that local art, craft groups, schools, and church groups etc in the Whitley Bay areas; N.Shields, Cullercoats, Tynemouth and Wallsend, will be co-ordinated by our own Lynn France, herself an accomplished seamstress.
The charity's primary objects are to advance public education in the art of embroidery and tapestry, as well as the history of Northumberland, depicted in the individual panels.
The key details are –
• Artwork: The project will consist of nine 7ft tall panels, each approximately 4ft wide, representing different areas of the county organised by each individual Rotary Club involved, but with one designer responsible for designing each individual panel.
• Artist: The panels will be designed and co-ordinated by the artistic designer, Naomi Walker. Naomi will ask Clubs for their important landmarks, and she will work them a basic design. She will then return to each of the Clubs to work the agreed sketch into a form for stitching. This will take time. (After selecting your landmarks, discuss these with Naomi, before any stitching actually occurs. This will allow her to conform your panel’s design to fit in with all the other panels. This is important for the overall look and final appearance of the tapestry).
• Template: The template design is a portrait presentation on the 7ft by 4ft panel with the central part being stitched by our experts. The ten or so border sections will be stitched by the non-embroiderers from our charitable groups under the supervision of the experts. The AI view gives a basic idea of what the whole tapestry might look like.
• Embroidery Leads: There are three leaders who will look after the nine clubs taking part; ours in Whitley Bay is Lynda Wadge and she can answer questions etc before the actual embroidery starts.
• Costs: It is envisaged that materials and workshops for all stitchers will be covered from a central funding scheme, c/o northumberlandtapestry.co.uk so the costs to each club will be minimal.
• Collaboration: Local groups of "stitchers"—including experienced sewers and beginners—will contribute to the embroidery picture, designed by Naomi and organised by the clubs involved.
• Permanent Home: Once completed, it is hoped the tapestry will be housed in a bespoke building based at The Alnwick Garden.
The official website for the Northumberland Tapestry is – northumberlandtapestry.co.uk which is a registered charity, number 1216842 and based in Morpeth where donations for the project can be sent.
We are still looking for stitching volunteers for this project and If you are interested in joining us, please contact us through the website –
enquiries@whitleybayrotaryclub.co.uk or our Facebook page – Whitley Bay Rotary