Stitchers o’ Stow Tag

The Reiver was stitched by the Stitchers o’ Stow (initials due to potential SOS stitching moments!) Our signature is a hidden cupcake, representing our gatherings and friendship. Stow, our small village has much history. The Holy Well is said to have been dedicated to St Mary by King Arthur in thanks for him winning the battle of Guinnon. The well was a site of pilgrimage. A scallop shell found in Stow was the ‘pilgrims’ badge of the famous site at Campino di Santiago in Spain showing how far ordinary pilgrims travelled. The well in Stow also attracted royalty with several medieval kings and queens visiting. The well and associated chapel were so holy that the parish became a medieval site of sanctuary.

By the 17th century Stow was thriving and a packhorse bridge was built across the Gala Water to aid travel. Some of the stones to build the bridge were taken from an interior wall of the church and this, combined with the ease of crossing the river to get to the church on a Sunday, saw the bridge nicknamed the bridge to heaven.’ One visitor to Stow who did not cross the bridge was Maharajah, an Indian elephant. In 1872, Maharajah was walking Edinburgh to Manchester and spent the night on Stow quoiting green before continuing on his way the next morning!