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The Greenwich Millennium Embroideries

Tudor

Stuart

Georgian

Victorian

Welcome!

These breathtaking embroideries were commissioned by Greenwich Borough Museum in 1998 to commemorate the Millennium by way of an educational resource for history and handicraft.

Being the Borough which gave its name to time itself, and the place where the Western and Eastern Hemispheres meet, Greenwich was an obvious world focus of the year 2000 Millennium celebrations. And the controversial Millennium Dome drew the attention of the World to our borough.

A highly talented local group of 35 women and one man(!), who ranged from skilled embroiderers to total novices,devised, designed, and hand-crafted millions of stitches, investing thousands of hours over a period of four years. They created eight embroidered panels to depict events in the historic borough of Greenwich from the year 0 to the year 2000AD.

This was no small undertaking. Each panel is wider than a doorway and almost as high - 1.35 meters high and 1.1 meters wide. That's 53 by 43 for people who think in inches. Side by side the panels are longer than a bus! The basic concept is a collage of embroidered pieces mounted on an embroidered background using a wide variety of techniques to achieve the desired effect for each element.

During 2000 the London Borough of Greenwich ran a 'Time to Celebrate' programme in which the first seven Embroideries were displayed around the Borough. The panels met with acclaim and won prizes in National competitions.

The Twentieth Century panel could not be started until 2001, when the century had finished. Since then the full set of eight panels has only been properly exhibited once, for two months in 2004. The panels are currently safely stored at the Greenwich Heritage Centre at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich but their size precludes permanent display. To be safely displayed, and easily moved in and out of storage, the embroideries need to be kept in archival frames.

Archival frames are sealed, atmosphere-controlled, and use special glass to filter the light to prevent fading over time. They are only available custom-made from a specialist supplier. So they cost a lot of money.

Greenwich Council has recently made a valuable donation and the first, two-panel, frame is on order for September 2008 but there is still about Ł50,000 to be raised.

Meanwhile, the embroidery team has not been idle. In 2002 they created a separate embroidery to celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee and they are now advising local textile students who are intending to create a ninth panel to celebrate Greenwich's involvement as an Olympic venue in 2012.

After all, the history of Greenwich never stops.

And YOU can be a permanent part of that history.

Click here or on the button above to find out about our 'Be in the Frame!' campaign, which will name our donors on an embroidered surround inside the frames and give them an entry into our Sealed Archive, so our donors are personally commemorated - for ever.