In the first of a series of articles, Susan Allison reflects on the community project which created nearly 50 kneelers for Christ Church, each with a story to tell and each recording a snapshot of present-day Wanstead
This community project got underway at the Wanstead Festival in September 2024, when stitching began on the first kneeler. Over the following 12 months, another 40-plus kneelers were stitched by numerous members of the community, celebrating the diversity of people and experiences in our village.
Every kneeler (or hassock) tells a story. Working with a uniform deep blue background, kneelers were either purchased directly from stock, modified or uniquely designed to mark a person, business or organisation in Wanstead. Some people chose to purchase and work on their own kneeler; some sponsored a kneeler for someone else to work on and some were purchased
through a generous bequest from John Sunley, a former member of Christ Church’s congregation.
The kneelers were presented to the church in October 2025, along with a guidebook that is available to purchase (£5; in aid of the church tower restoration fund), but the project is not over yet. We are now preparing an exhibition of the kneelers and their stories, which will be on show at this year’s Wanstead Festival. All project documents will then be collated and archived. This project demonstrates Christ Church’s community engagement, a vital component in securing funding for the refurbishment of the church and the restoration of the church tower.
St Cuthbert
Sewn by: Susan Allison
Dedicated to: James and Kitty Todd
The whole ‘Kneelers for Christ Church’ project is the result of an experience Susan Allison had with her parents, James and Kitty Todd, whilst in a previous parish in Surrey. Kitty and a group of other women joined together to make large patchwork wall-hangings and kneelers for their church. James was also actively involved in the design and colour-matching of the hangings and the kneelers. However, other than sewing their initials on the side of the kneelers, there was no record made of who the initials referred to, who had been involved, what the design referenced and why, and Susan realised she was now the only person alive who held that information. Which is why, when she overheard the rector talking about new kneelers for Christ Church, she spoke up and said it was important the information about the crafters be recorded as part of Christ Church’s legacy. The design of this kneeler is Saint Cuthbert, the patron saint of Durham, which is where James and Kitty were born and married.
Wanstead Community Kneeler
Sewn by: the community
Dedicated to: Pat Beckwith and Richelle Speers
This is dedicated to two employees of the company who supplied the kneelers, Pat Beckwith – who, until her retirement, gave wonderful guidance and support at the start of the kneeler project – and Richelle Speers – who had the misfortune of having to pick up where Pat left off and steered us through to the end of our stitching. The design of this kneeler is free-flow. It started at the Wanstead Festival in September 2024 with anyone, especially children, coming to make a few stitches wherever they liked, in whatever colour they wished and recording their details for the future. The kneeler then toured various local venues for the young and old and all in between to produce an amazing, vibrantly unique design. The oldest stitcher was 94; the youngest (with help) was six months old.
For more information on the project, visit wnstd.com/kneelers
