In the course of the work being carried out by the church recording volunteers from the West Somerset DFAS at St Michael’s Church, Angersleigh, the current condition of one of the altar frontals was noticed as being sorely in need of repair. Whilst the embroidery itself was relatively intact, the backing silk was rotting and in tatters over large areas.

Having sought the advice of the Diocesan textile adviser, four WSDFAS members set about the task of removing intact the embroideries from their old backing and then re-sewing them on to new silk. The originals of these are not reusable and modern-day equivalents have not been easy to find.

The Heritage Volunteers involved in this project had never attempted work of this kind before, but have much enjoyed the challenge. If you would like to help with similar conservation work, assisting with archives, stewarding at Dunster Castle or Coleridge Cottage, please contact Dilys Farrant on 01278 741 186.