Horbury Tapestry - West Yorkshire’s answer to the Bayeux Tapestry - to be digitised as Horbury Library secures grant from Wakefield Council

It was West Yorkshire’s answer to the Bayeux Tapestry, and at six by eight feet and with 250 panels, the Horbury Tapestry depicts local scenes as a snapshot of Horbury life in the early noughties.

The two-year long project was coordinated by FOHL member and textile designer Janet Taylor to commemorate the centenary of Horbury Library’s opening and was made by around 70 FOHL members, a group which has existed since 1998.

Currently, the only way to view the tapestry is by visiting the library in-person, but – owing to a grant from Wakefield Council – the library has been able to collaborate with digital media organisation One to One Development Trust to execute the process of digitising the tapestry.

The project is called “The Horbury Tapestry, Then and Now”.

Several of the people involved in this impressive sewing feat have since died, and any family members who do not live in the area are not able to view this piece of work that their relative was heavily involved in.

This, coupled with a wider expectation of online availability, created a strong justification to modernise how the Horbury Tapestry is viewed and preserved.

Jill Thomas, FOHL member and project coordinator, said: “We were responding to comments we were getting. People got used to the idea of seeing things online.

“The families and friends of people who passed on want to be able to see and don’t necessarily live in Horbury. It makes sense to make it available to a wider audience – there’s a huge benefit.”

The Horbury Tapestry is made up of around 250 panels.

Jill said: “Each panel is quite a little gem.

“Many of the shops have been replaced, it gives you a sense of what Horbury is about. It also has pictures of things like the cubs and brownies and various historical buildings.”

The digital version of the Horbury Tapestry will allow viewers to zoom in on specific parts of the artwork, but Jill said an in-person viewing still has its merits.

She said: “We do hope people will come in and look at it, because some of the work is stump work, padding and frills. It's a bit 3-D, it’s not a flat thing, and certainly we would want people to come in and look.

“To see the totality of it is a different experience, and to look at other historical things we’ve got in the library.”

The project has been made possible through a Culture Grant of £1,500 from Wakefield Council as part of Our Year.

FOHL are hoping the digital tapestry will allow for each panel to be attributed to its creator, accompanied by explanatory text.

The process of digitisation will be carried out by the One to One Development Trust – based at Wakefield’s Art House – using a digital programme called Seadragon.

As part of the digitisation project, FOHL will launch an appeal on July 20 calling for submissions of pictures which capture Horbury life today.

The library is particularly interested in younger contributors, and is hoping to create a photographic montage which will form a modern response to the tapestry.