In preparation for King Charles III's Coronation this weekend, the College have brought what is known as the Coronation Brocatelle out of the Archive and placed it on the Altar in the Chapel for two weeks. This piece has an interesting history which goes back to the Coronation of King George the VI in 1937.

This swathe of luxurious material is understood to have been a section from the fabric designed and used as one of a number of decorative panels at Westminster Abbey for the Coronation of King George the VI and has been a familiar sight here at Bradfield adorning the altar since the 1940’s.

There is another large framed section of this material hanging in the entrance to the Chapel with a title beneath: “Brocatelle used in Westminster Abbey on the Coronation of His Majesty King George the Sixth on May the twelfth 1937 “

Both were a generous bequest to the College in memory of Bradfieldian Ian Anthony Goodwell (C 40-42) who sadly passed away after a cycling accident in Newbury in 1942.

More about the history of the Coronation Brocatelle can be read here