School pupils' banner featuring stories of Aberdour now on display in village church

A banner created by pupils at Aberdour Primary School telling stories of the village and St Fillans is now on display in a local church.
By Fiona Dobie
Published 19th Jul 2023, 11:54 BST
Updated 19th Jul 2023, 11:54 BST
One of the panels created by pupils at Aberdour Primary telling the story of Mortimer's Deep. (pic: submitted)One of the panels created by pupils at Aberdour Primary telling the story of Mortimer's Deep. (pic: submitted)
One of the panels created by pupils at Aberdour Primary telling the story of Mortimer's Deep. (pic: submitted)

The work is currently hanging in St Fillan’s Church.

In August 2021 Ruth Murray, a member of the Aberdour Cultural Association visited the Dunfermline Tapestry at the Carnegie Library and Galleries and wondered if the ACA might do something similar. A banner had previously been created in 1998/99 for the Aberdour Festival and it hung in Aberdour Church hall for many years.

The ACA contacted primary school headteacher Louise Wood who was keen for the children to be involved in a new banner project, particularly if it linked in with 2022 being the Year of Scotland’s Stories.

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The tapestry panels have been sewn together into a banner telling stories of Aberdour. The banner, created by local school children, is now on display in St Fillans Church. (pic: submitted)The tapestry panels have been sewn together into a banner telling stories of Aberdour. The banner, created by local school children, is now on display in St Fillans Church. (pic: submitted)
The tapestry panels have been sewn together into a banner telling stories of Aberdour. The banner, created by local school children, is now on display in St Fillans Church. (pic: submitted)

In May last year, ACA chair and local historian Simon Taylor told the children stories about the village and the youngsters began work on a banner based on these.

Each class completed an A3 sized panel based on the stories Simon told before local ladies got involved to help bring the panels together. Sarah Belle donated backing material, Dot Clark helped plan and prepare the banner and Davina Aikman and Ruth Murray came up with the design and did the sewing work. Beneath each panel created by the children is a panel telling the story.

The banner was displayed for the first time Aberdour Primary School on June 23 at an exhibition celebrating the 900th anniversary of St Fillan’s Church together with some of the pupils’ work including a model of the church, news articles relating to important events during the church’s history, a timeline and a film made by the children that includes some of Simon’s stories.

The banner includes stories on Mortimer’s Deep, St Fillan, Captain Morgan, shipwrecks and crime detection. The banner, which features the tapestry and the written stories, can now be viewed at St Fillans Church in Aberdour between 10am and 5pm each day.