Special thanks go to:

Colebrooke Parochial Church Council for agreeing to let the patchwork hang in the church.

Colebrooke Parish Council for their support and enthusiasm.

Margaret Armstrong for being our constant source of advice and help. 

Jenny Lee for liaising with the Parish Council and Village Hall Committee. 

Maggie Waltho for liaising with the Parochial Church Council.

Neville Enderson for his local history information. John Enderson for his photography.

Buzz Be for his photography.

Hywel James for researching framing possibilities and costs.

Introduction

Penstone has no central meeting place; no neutral territory where its community can gather, swap gossip or hold events. We don't even have a telephone box for heaven's sake. An application for one was made in the early 1970's but turned down by the G.P.O. (General Post Office, this was pre-BT days) on the grounds that Penstone wasn't big enough.

This has been a recurring theme - Penstone's insignificance - and one that the inhabitants feel rightly indignant about. Penstone may not have been home to anyone well known, no famous battles have been fought in its fields, nor any catastrophes carved its landscape. Yet it is that very insignificance that makes Penstone special. Summer days pass unmarred by droves of tourists, the air is as clean as you'll get anywhere in England and traffic noise tends to be the sound of a distant tractor. Yes, there is a sense of the world having passed us by in Penstone, and thank God for it. As G.K. Chesterton wrote:

"Smile at us, pay us, pass us; but do not quite forget. For we are the people of England, that never have spoken yet."

Until now...

The dawning of the millennium led many communities to mark the occasion with a statement about themselves; a tree planted, commemorative mugs produced, a book written.

Some of us in Penstone felt the time had come to make our own statement and not merely let Colebrooke and Coleford speak for us. It was not in any way to separate ourselves from the triangle, but rather to strengthen our part within it. But a community with little opportunity to commune is at a distinct disadvantage, so whatever we did should at the same time bring us together.

Inspired by the idea of American quilting circles, a flier was circulated to each house inviting anyone interested to meet at Wayside Cotage in early April 1999 to discuss the possibility of creating The Penstone Patchwork. Of the 22 houses, 10 were represented at that meeting and eight people undertook the sewing. Although this was not designed to be a womens' group, I suppose the nature of the project meant it was women who took the major role in producing the final quilt. And yes, it should really be called The Penstone Quilt' because of the way it has turned out, but while we discussed it - at some length; we didn't get down to the actual sewing until several months of delaying tactics in the form of discussions took place - it was always known as 'The Penstone Patchwork', and so it stays.

It is true to say that at the first meeting there were people who had lived as neighbours for years, yet didn't know each other's first name. We were most of us strangers, but held together by the bond of living in Penstone and our pride in this little inconsequential hamlet.

Whenever there is heavy rain the river, which flows under the road leading into Penstone and across the ford on the road leading out again, cuts us off from the outside world, a metaphor if ever there was one. It seemed appropriate therefore to choose the river as the frontier of our quilt.

We met fortnightly to talk about it over cups of tea and sometimes glasses of wine. Later on, when the light was good, we would sew our squares as we talked and as the millennium passed we chatted on, more interested in the friendships forged than meeting any millennium deadline. "We didn't say which millennium," we used to say, enjoying ourselves too much to bring it to a close. This defiance for time and protocol cemented the group further.

As the year 2000 blended into 2001 and then slid into 2002 we realised we could defer the day of deliverance no longer. So here it is, The Penstone Patchwork. We hope you will enjoy it for many years after we've all gone, that it will give you a flavour of our little place at this time in its history and perhaps an insight into the people who shared and relished its peaceful insignificance for a small fraction of its lifetime. It is our way of celebrating Penstone and sharing it with the generations to come.

Mary Stephenson April 2002

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