Over recent years, the RSN Embroidery Studio has worked with St Albans Cathedral on large pieces such as the Shrine Canopies for St Albans and St Amphibalus.

They approached us again with a lovely little commission: to produce a funeral pall for a miniature coffin.

For centuries, the burial place of a 15th-century abbot—credited with helping to rebuild the church after the Black Death—was unknown. That changed during excavation work at St Albans, when a skeleton was discovered and later confirmed as the missing abbot, John of Wheathampstead. Following the discovery, it was decided that he should be reburied in the crypt of the Cathedral.

A miniature coffin was made to hold his skeleton, and we were commissioned to create a funeral pall with a design inspired by the roof paintings. It incorporated a gold saltire in the centre against a blue background, symbolising St Alban, the first British martyr. The design was placed on the top of the coffin and was therefore visible to anyone looking into the crypt.

We used a combination of appliqué and surface embroidery, including some metal thread work. Once the embroidery was finished, we constructed the pall just as we would a full-size one, ready for the service to lay him to rest in the crypt.

Do you have an object you would like made, restored or conserved?

Contact the RSN Embroidery Studio Team or visit the website today for bespoke embroidery commissions, restoration and conservation services.