Kneelers
  • Published: 4 June 2023
  • ISBN: 9781784743963
  • Imprint: Chatto & Windus
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 144
  • RRP: $55.00
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Kneelers

The Unsung Folk Art of England and Wales

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A beautiful celebration of church kneelers - a unique folk art - and the people who make them

'A treasure of a collection' Amber Butchart, of BBC's The Great British Sewing Bee

'I think I may already have discovered the best non fiction book of 2023' Reverend Richard Coles, author of A Murder Before Evensong

Kneelers is a celebration of the most widely practised - but often overlooked - folk art in England and Wales over the past ninety years: the design and craft of church kneelers. Featuring charming stories and enchanting designs from churches across the country, the book traces the history of kneelers; from their spectacular beginnings at Winchester in the 1930s to their booming popularity after Queen Elizabeth II's coronation and the present-day congregations who are keeping the tradition alive.

In their range and diversity, the kneelers collected here form a fascinating social record of the concerns and interests that occupied their makers - including local fauna and flora, cricket, dragons, post-war tributes and the thrills of high-speed travel.

Filled to the brim with beautiful full-colour images, Kneelers displays the quirky artistry and widely varied (and often surprising) motifs which have characterised church kneelers in the twentieth century. It rejoices in the personal stories of some of the people who have practised and advanced the art form, and is a wonderful commemoration of what happens when communities come together to celebrate their history and their environment.

'A glorious and delightful salute' Tracy Chevalier, author of A Single Thread

'This book is a Godsend!' Alan Titchmarsh, author of The Gardener's Almanac
  • Published: 4 June 2023
  • ISBN: 9781784743963
  • Imprint: Chatto & Windus
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 144
  • RRP: $55.00
Categories:
Share…

Praise for Kneelers

'A glorious and delightful salute to some of the UK's most neglected folk art and its makers'

Tracy Chevalier, author of A Single Thread

'A treasure of a collection'

Amber Butchart, of BBC's The Great British Sewing Bee

'For anyone who has been grateful for a kneeler, and found solace in them during a challenging sermon, this book is a Godsend!'

Alan Titchmarsh, author of The Gardener's Almanac

'I think I may already have discovered the best non fiction book of 2023'

Reverend Richard Coles, author of A Murder Before Evensong

Heart-warming . . . Includes some of the loveliest kneelers ever made

The Oldie

[A] marvellous book

Reverend Richard Coles, Daily Telegraph

[A] lovely book... both touching and surprising

Observer

'This is one of those delicious books that take an ostensibly small subject and illuminate a whole world

Literary Review

As well as a celebration of church kneelers, Mrs Bingham's book is a rallying cry that they should be valued more highly

Church Times

This book rediscovers a vital vernacular art form...[it] makes new sense of every visit you make to a church, and is funny and wise to boot

Week

Gives praise at last to an overlooked form of British folk art

Sunday Times

Fascinating

Simple Things

A lovely look at a not-quite-vanishing craft that lies, literally, below our knees… Bingham…has produced a lavishly illustrated guide to some of the most inventive and interesting kneelers in the country

Oldie, *Christmas Gift Guide 2023*