WI members from all over the county will gather at Guildford Cathedral on Saturday, September 8, to celebrate the centenary of the Surrey Federation of Women’s Institutes.

Among the invited guests at the special service will be the Lord Lieutenant of Surrey Michael More-Molyneux, the High Sheriff of Surrey, Jim Glover, and the Mayor and Mayoress of Guildford, Mike Parsons and his wife Jean.

Members of the public are welcome to join in the ecumenical service, which starts at 2pm and will be conducted by the Dean, the Very Reverend Dianna Gwilliams and the Reverend Canon Dr Paul Smith.

Hand-crafted banners belonging to individual WIs, many intricately worked, will be paraded and displayed along with a complementary selection of cathedral needlework.

The service is the culmination of a series of special events which have taken place throughout the county during the year to mark the centenary, from a picnic evening at RHS Wisley attended by 1,500 Surrey WI members and guests, to a centenary fair, concert and barn dance with a hog roast.

Of major interest at the cathedral service will be a display of Centenary Books produced by the Surrey Federation. This mammoth undertaking involved each of the county’s 178 WIs writing a 200-word description of their institute, its history and present-day activities, and illustrating each entry with a separate page of artwork. Some chose photography, others a watercolour painting and many featured all kinds of needlework including appliqué, knitting and crochet, plus parchment work and other types of craftwork.