Guildford’s Quilt – Your Stories Stitched into History

Explore a record of Guildford’s experience of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic in patchwork, starting Saturday 23 October at Guildford Museum.

Created by Guildford residents, the Guildford Quilt is made up of more than 30 patches, which have been embroidered, printed or drawn. Both children and adults contributed records of their memories and experiences of the pandemic in images and words. These patches and designs will be on display until 22 January 2022 after which they will be stitched together to form the new Guildford Quilt.

Cllr John Redpath, Lead Councillor for Economy, said:

“These little squares are so powerful and full of emotion. Looking at them, you can see the things that have made so many of us happy or brought us comfort throughout the pandemic: friends, family, and nature. It is remarkable to think that we now have two quilts of comfort in our collection.

“We would like to thank everyone who contributed their design and story to Guildford’s Quilt and helped to create a record of Guildford’s experiences of the pandemic. I hope that you all can visit our museum and admire your skills, vision, and more admirably your self-expression.”

The project was inspired by the Ripley Lending Quilt, made by The Girls’ Friendly Society in the late 1800s to lend and bring comfort to sick villagers. The quilt survives as a record of our kindness to each other in difficult times. It is displayed in the needlework gallery at the museum.

A selection of traditional patchwork items will accompany the exhibition, exploring aspects of patchwork’s history.

Thank you to The Embroiderers’ Guild for lending historical patchwork to the display, and to Stitch Together (formerly the South-East Region of the Embroiderers’ Guild) who facilitated our drop in design and stitch a patch session in the grounds of Guildford Castle in August.

Our museum, is in Quarry Street and a short walk from the main High Street, is free and open weekly from Wednesday until Saturday, 12 – 4.30pm (last entry 4pm).