Remembrance – Ripon Cathedral

Remembrance in our cathedrals will mark the 80th anniversaries of Victory in Europe (VE) and Victory over Japan (VJ)

An evening dress made out of poppies, a new piece of art to commemorate all those who gave their lives from the African diaspora, a Roll of Honour projected onto cathedral walls, new tours that tell the stories of local heroes, and thousands upon thousands of poppies will fall silently from our towers in an act of contemplation and remembrance for all those lives lost.

Knitted Remembrance Dress at Ripon Cathedral

Knitters from the Ripon Community Poppy Project have created a dress crafted completely from knitted poppies for a commemorative concert of Remembrance to be held in Ripon Cathedral.

The busy knitters have designed and made the dress – including its 12-foot train – from 2,000 knitted poppies.

The dress will be worn by Soprano, Charlotte Potter as she sings in the concert in the cathedral on November 6.

Volunteers in Ripon, the city closest to Catterick Barracks in North Yorkshire, where most families have some military connection, have become famous worldwide for their knitted creations.

“Each poppy can take 15 to 30 minutes to make, depending on how fast they knit,” said Stuart Martin, from the volunteer group. “It’s incredible, the amount of time it takes.”

The dress has taken over 1,000 hours of knitting to craft the 2,000 poppies it holds.

The group started knitting poppies in 2017 for celebrations to mark 100 years since the end of the First World War. And the group has carried on knitting ever since, with bunting and bicycles and knitted jerseys for a cycle race, celebrations for the late Queen’s Jubilee and the new King’s coronation.

The dress is currently on display in the front window of Specsavers in the city’s Market Square.

Tickets for the concert can be found here

Ripon Community Poppy Project was awarded the King’s Award for Voluntary Service. This award is the equivalent to an MBE – and is the highest award given to local voluntary groups in the UK.

Over the last seven years its volunteers have dedicated thousands of hours to knitting amazing displays in their weekly knit and natter groups as well as creating installations and organising events of commemoration and celebration.