Today we'll be talking about the material of worship. The literal material. We sat down with Robert Hoare, the managing director of vestment maker, Watts & Co, to talk about its venerable and sometimes quirky history, and the ancient and unbelievable craftsmanship of the chasubles, cassocks, copes, surplices, maniples, mitres, stoles, and humeral veils Christian clergy wear today, to lead the people of God into the presence of God.

And this episode isn't just for people who know what a maniple is. Anyone interested in history, art, sustainable industry, English stuff, or a good yarn will also enjoy this episode.

We'll hear about commissions for the royal family, the formidable women of Watts & Co, the flood that took out several centuries of hand embroidery, secrets of the craft, how vestments might be attracting young people to church, and our longing for beauty in a world of technologized homogeneity. 

Robert Hoare and his sister, Marie-Severine de Caraman Chimay, are fifth-generation owners of Watts.

Is this a conversation about art and worship, or a sales pitch for beautiful vestments? We hope we thread that needle. We hope you enjoy the conversation.

Watts & Co website

Opus Anglicanum needlework

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