WORK is set to restart on a tapestry which will bring the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh at Musselburgh to life with needle and thread.

The decision was taken by the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh and Tapestry Group following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions.

Designed by Andrew Crummy, the artist behind the Great Tapestry of Scotland and Battle of Prestonpans Tapestry, it is being worked on by a group of stitchers under the expert guidance of Liz Neilson.

Unlike any of Mr Crummy’s other tapestries, the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh Tapestry will have up to six huge panels.

Stitchers have been working on smaller embroideries depicting their favourite parts of Musselburgh and what the town means to them. These will be incorporated into the finished panels, which will be housed at the Brunton Hall.

Pinkie Cleugh was the last pitched battle between Scotland and England, fought on September 10, 1547.

It took place during the Rough Wooing, when the armies of Scotland and England fought to determine who should marry the infant Mary, Queen of Scots.

The armies were led by the Earl of Arran, Regent of Scotland, and the Lord Protector of England, the Duke of Somerset, whose aim was to secure the betrothal of nine-year-old Prince Edward, the English heir apparent, to five-year-old Mary.

The larger Scottish army attacked across the River Esk into the teeth of ferocious cavalry charges and a hail of arrows, cannon and gunshot.

There were 10,000 Scottish troops massacred in the rout, which became known as ‘Black Saturday’.

But the immediate effect of this defeat was to revive the ‘Auld Alliance’ between Scotland and France – and to bring about the betrothal of Mary to the Dauphin of France.

The battle is significant in military history due to the pioneering combination of horse, foot and artillery with supporting fire from naval vessels.

Stitchers will meet this Saturday and Saturday, November 27, at the Fisherrow Centre on South Street between 10am and noon, with space for social distancing.

The team is being led by Liz Neilson, head of stitching, supported by Musselburgh resident Gaynor Allen.

Anyone wishing to be part of the project or those

who would like to view the stitching work in progress can go along on the day.

Liz highlighted two large panels which would be created – one showing Marie de Guise with her daughter, the young Mary, Queen of Scots, and another depicting King Henry VIII and his young son Edward. They will be surrounded by green velvet and many of the shield-shaped panels representing Musselburgh life.

She said that smaller panels would be stitched onto linen using only brown thread, representing maps of the battlefield.

Liz stressed that the project would “bring this historic time in the 16th century to life with needle and thread”.

It is hoped that the first panels will be finished for a short exhibition next spring, possibly at Musselburgh Museum.