The Talking Tapestry of Langum

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A visit to St Jerome’s in Llangwm, will bring you to the Talking Tapestry of Langum, a marvellous creation generated by the community of Llangwm and Hook-originally the land holdings of the De La Roche Estate.

St Jerome's Church home of the Talking Tapestry — St Jerome’s Church home of the Talking Tapestry

It tells the tale from Medieval times, when invaders from across the sea came to the village of Llangwm(it’s present day name), formally- Langum.

Flemish Settlers

Settled by 2,500 Flemish people, who pretty much kept themselves to themselves, not wanting to learn any of the local dialect. They were happy to trade with the local people but really were not interested in integrating themselves, which makes me wonder is that how, when I was growing up, we were always told to be wary of Llangwm inhabitants as they hated outsiders. In time, I realised this was not true, becoming friends with quite a few, but as a younger person, it was with trepidation that you entered the village of Llangwm!

To try and integrate the Flemish people, the de la Roche’s (I believe) brought in some Saxon people to inhabit the village of Hook, with the sole purpose of getting the Flemish people to learn the dialect and integrate themselves into the community. This did not go down well, and I believe it failed!

Hook & Llangwm Rivalry

It also maybe goes someway to explain why historically there was always a great deal of rivalry between the villages of Llangwm and their next door neighbours, Hook. Which still continues today when it comes to football, rugby and cricket games!

Anyway, coming back to the church-it was in a state of disrepair and so some of the villagers got together and drew up a project to attract some funding to have the church repaired. And so, the idea of the Talking Tapestry came to life.

They went to the local schools at Hook and Llangwm and asked the children to choose a time period and to draw about it. These pictures were then brought together into what is the tapestry and there is a piece of every childs’ picture in the tapestry, be it an animal or a cloud or a sun, or indeed a man in a baseball cap with a black & decker implement, helping to build the manor house in 1240AD! Every child can go to the Talking Tapestry of Langum and say ‘I drew this’ and point to something, which I think, is great for the longevity of the piece.