St Alfege Church sewing panels 

Among events in Greenwich to mark the Millennium in 2012 of the death of Alfege, Archbishop of Canterbury, beaten to death by Danish raiders on the site of St Alfege Church, a project was launched to create four needlework panels representing stories about the life of Jesus from the New Testament set in modern day Greenwich.  

The four large and beautiful panels have been completed and were displayed in the church in the summer of 2017.  The inspiration for these panels was born out of the preparations we made for the millennium of Alfege’s martyrdom in 2012, which drew in turn from the inspiration of the Greenwich Millennium tapestries now permanently exhibited at Royal Greenwich Heritage Centre. 

The needlework panels represent stories about the life of Jesus from the New Testament set in modern day Greenwich and underline our belief as Christians that Christ is discovered over and over again in the course of ordinary lives and encounters today just as he was two thousand years ago. For example one of the panels shows Jesus preaching from a boat on the Thames to crowds in the old Royal Naval College and Greenwich Park. 

Revd Canon Chris Moody, Vicar at St Alfege Church (now retired) said: “This is a wonderful example of members of the local community coming together and giving their expertise and time freely to bring the story of Jesus to life.”

The sewing took place from 2011 until 2016 with the sewing group meeting every week in the church and included members of St Alfege Church, the Old Royal Naval College Chapel and the wider community in and around Greenwich. 

The panels were made to be used in different ways by schools, churches and other institutions to support community engagement and learning and are set in triangular frames which can be displayed together or separately.  The panels are now on display permanently in St Alfege Church.  Find out more about visiting St Alfege Church here.