Blessing of the Jubilee Copes

We were invited to a special Evensong, which was held in Southwark Cathedral on Friday 1 May 2015 when Bishop Christopher, our Chaplain, blessed the new Jubilee Copes.

The Livery played an important part in the creation of the Copes by paying for the materials with a grant from our Charity Fund. The silks and braid were specially woven to match those in the Copes worn by the Dean and Chapter.

The Copes were made and embroidered by the Cathedral’s Guild of Broderers. Due to the size of the commission, a number of new people with skills in design and embroidery were appointed to join the Guild, many of whom had trained at the Royal School of Needlework.

he Copes were designed by Lisa Bilby and are truly magnificent, representing an incredible amount of intricate, highly skilled work. For instance, each of the lilies on the orphreys took 50 hours of work to embroider!

The two Copes have taken several painstaking years to complete. In Pamela Goldberg’s year as Master, the ladies of our Livery visited the Cathedral to see the work in progress and last year Sue Kent was presented to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh when they visited the Cathedral. Her Majesty showed great interest in the Copes and congratulated the Broderers on their fine work.

After the Evensong, we attended a reception at which the Master presented needle cases to Mrs Mary Howell, Head Broderer at the Cathedral, and a copy of our Royal Charter Anniversary book to each Broderer.

The Copes will be worn on all diocesan occasions in the Cathedral and will be a lasting memory of the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty and the Needlemakers’ generosity.