A cathedral cushion honouring three of Britain's most prominent 19th-century women has finally been made almost a century after its original design following its chance discovery by a bestselling author.
Tracy Chevalier uncovered the forgotten watercolour commemorating Jane Austen, Florence Nightingale and Charlotte Yonge in the archives of a charity that supports Winchester Cathedral.
The 61-year-old, best known for writing Girl with a Pearl Earring, was astonished to find the 'intricate' 1930s design had never actually been made into a cushion and offered to fund a local embroidery group to create it.
Some 90 years after it was first designed and following two years of painstaking embroidery work from a local resident - the cushion has now been completed and placed on the Bishop's chair.
Novelist Ms Chevalier said Pride and Prejudice author Austen - who is buried at the cathedral - is now rightfully part of the 'fabric of the cathedral'.
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The unlikely chain of events began in the early 1930s, when the Bishop of Winchester invited textile historian and artist, Louisa Pesel, to train volunteers to produce embroidered cushions and kneelers for the Choir stalls and Presbytery seats.
Alongside fellow artist, Sybil Blunt, and hundreds of volunteers the women created 360 kneelers, 62 stall cushions, 34 long bench cushions, and 96 alms bags.
The cushions - which are placed on chairs at the rear of the building - were created over a period of five years and provide a pictorial history of both the cathedral and the diocese of Winchester.
Nearly a century later, Ms Chevalier visited Winchester Cathedral from her home in Dorset to seek inspiration for a new novel she was planning to write.
The author learnt of the building's cushions and the tales of Ms Pesel and Ms Blunt and became so inspired, she wrote her 2019 novel A Single Thread based on their story.
A year after the novel was published, Friends of Winchester Cathedral - which is chaired by former BBC presenter Bruce Parker - contacted the author to tell her they had found the original drawings in their office.
Ms Chevalier looked through the pieces and was astonished to find one that she did not recognise.
Austen, Florence Nightingale and children's author Charlotte Yong were all prominent Hampshire women in the 19th century.
"This design doesn't exist," she told staff at the charity.
Following a lecture delivered by Ms Chevalier on her novel - the decision was made to create the 'missing cushion'.
"I said surely, because Jane Austen has such a connection with here wouldn't it be great if there was a cushion commemorating her and honouring her," she said.
The author offered to fund the project which - in a 'labour of love' - took an embroiderer at Winchester Cathedral Guild of Broderers two years to complete.
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Ms Chevalier said: "It's great, I love Jane Austen, of course being a writer, I think about her a lot."
It is not known why this particular cushion was not made but Ms Chevalier and the other individuals involved in the project speculated that it could be due to a 'dispute' over the design.
"I don't know, maybe they were not fans of Jane Austen's work, I don't know, it's hard to believe that anybody wouldn't be," she said.
"Maybe there was a dispute about which direction to go in and they couldn't resolve that and they thought let's leave this argument for another day.
"I thought that she was part of the fabric of the cathedral and now she is literally a part of the fabric of the cathedral," she added.
"I thought that, that particularly for Jane Austen, her time has come and it's perfect because next year is the 250th anniversary of her birth.
"I think that's very good timing for that moment.
"It's lovely and I love the fact it does have a more modern feel as well."
The author said it is good that cushions in the cathedral differ because 'different women made them at different times'.
Margaret Bingham, who is in her 80s, was tasked with the project and spent two years embroidering the design.
"I have lived with it for so long," she said.
"I was able to take it home because it was portable, I wanted to keep going really because I could be going for years and years at that rate," she said.
The embroiders used the other cushions in the cathedral, which dates back to 1079, as a 'source of inspiration' in finishing the piece.
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"Charlotte Yong had written a book called The Daisy Chain so I was asked to put the daisies on," she continued.
"I changed the [typeface] because I wasn't happy with it, I felt this was more readable and more modern."
She said it would be 'impossible' to guess how many hours the cushion it took to create.
"I was delighted to be asked," she added.
"I am delighted it's finished but I have lived with it for two years or do. I am pleased that it's going into the cathedral and it will be used."
The pillow - dubbed the 'Women's Cushion' - will now sit on the Bishop's chair.
Mr Parker - who was the first ever presenter of the Antiques Roadshow - also speculated that the cushion was never created because of a dispute over who should be featured in the design.
The 82 year old there is a note in the corner of the design that suggested Florence Nightingale ought to be changed to Charles Kingsley.
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