Going into St Mary’s Church in Fairford, visitors and worshippers are in awe of the beautiful world-famous stained-glass windows, but few probably pay very much attention to the kneelers that hang on the back of the pews and make it more comfortable for worshippers to kneel in prayer.

Impressed by the kneelers in a small church near Bournemouth, Dorothy Paton, a former Mayor of Fairford, decided that “one day I will do something like this for St Mary’s.”

Some time later, she fulfilled her promise and spearheaded a project to produce a complete set of tapestry kneelers, choir seat cushions, ecclesiastical robes and altar cloths in time for the Church’s 500^th anniversary in 1997.

Dorothy and her kneeler group of between eight and 20 people would meet in Milton Farmhouse and make a social evening of their task. The first kneelers to be produced were for the Lady Chapel – 16 in all – with the background worked in two shades of blue with a central design worked in gold and white depicting the emblems of the Blessed Virgin. Over the next ten years, the group produced around 300 kneelers, which come in many different colours, many different designs and represent a cross-section of Fairford life.

The kneelers were dedicated by the vicar before taking their place in the body of the Church and were designed in memory of a loved one, to recognise community groups such as the Fairford Preservation Trust or to highlight events such as the Traction Engine Rally.

Commemorating the Traction Engine Rally

There are also kneelers to honour the various Mayors of Fairford, showing the Town Council crest on the front with the name of the Mayor worked on the side of the kneeler and the years of his or her term of office. I feel very honoured to have this wonderful work of art mentioning my term of office as Mayor from 2005-2007 forever in Fairford Church.

Dorothy sadly passed away in 2012 and ‘my kneeler’ (the yellow one on the left above) was the last one Dorothy made dedicated to a Mayor of Fairford.