Visitors are always welcome to come try us out. We operate a 'buddy' system, so whether you come as a visitor on your own, or with a friend, one of our WI members will be there to welcome you and answer any questions you may have.
The Women’s Institute (WI) was
formed in 1915 to encourage women to become more involved in producing and
preserving food during World War One. Since it’s incarnation the WI has grown
to become the largest voluntary women’s organisation in the UK. To date there
are approximately 220,000 members in approximately 6,300 WI groups.
The role of the WI is to educate and empower women, providing opportunities to learn new skills and to raise issues within their local and wider communities.
The Women’s Institute are an inclusive organisation, open to all women
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In 2022 we celebrated our 10-year
anniversary, to mark it we decided to create a banner to showcase our town and
our WI within it. The Banner girls were then formed on 16th March with the aim
to unveil the finished article for our 10-year anniversary meeting on
June 8th. The Banner ladies consisted of, Jane East, Celia O'Connell,
Lynda Ward, Elizabeth Lediert, Helen-Marie Thornhill, Veronica McCulloch and
Kathleen Gumbrell.
The design was a
collaboration of ideas, drawn out by Jane and Veronica separately with
Kath putting them together into one cohesive design. The elements of the banner
represent our county, town, and WI. The background features the Surrey Hills, a
nod to the county as well as the river Mole, which runs through the town. There
also features a plane due to our proximity to Gatwick airport, with oak leaves
and acorns for Surrey. The signpost is a representation of our direction
as a WI, with a stone marker showing the date of Horley Evening WI's inception.
The two buildings featured at the bottom of the banner are the two oldest
buildings in the town, St Bartholomew's church and Ye Olde Six Bells pub. The
eagle-eyed will also spot that the town name is mounted on six bells!
We used a variety of techniques,
drawing on each of the Banner girls’ strengths. We went our
separate ways and got to work on our individual part. Veronica made a
start on the mixed media quilted background and signpost, Helen-Marie crocheted
leaves and flowers, Lynda created embroidered felt leaves. Kath got to making
needle felted oak leaves, acorns, and the plane. Celia created the bells and
felt leaves, Jane created the St Bartholomew's church in felt. Elizabeth
embroidered the six bells, stone marker and created Romanian point lace oak
leaves and stumpwork acorns. All the ladies then took to assembling the piece,
the banner moving from one house to another as we all took part in assembling
and making the finishing touches. Last but not least, Veronica painstakingly
attached the backing by hand and placed the last stitch on 6th June, ready to
be unveiled on 8th June at our birthday meeting.
There is still one part to go
which is the embroidered names to go on the back, but there is no rush.
The banner is proudly hung at each of our meetings and is a
wonderful reminder of the teamwork and creative collaboration that
was achieved with painstaking skill, talent and plenty of tea and cake.
