THE magnificent carpeting that adorned Westminster Abbey a century ago for the Coronation of Edward VII was specially made by a then nationally-renowned Worcester carpet manufacturing company.

Messrs. Edward Webb and Sons had their extensive factory at Birdport (now the Deansway area) for more than a century up until closure in 1935 and supplied carpets for 10 Downing Street, stately homes and for shipping lines worldwide.

However, at this time exactly a century ago Webbs were specifically in the news as the manufacturers who had been commissioned to produce the carpeting for the June 1902 Coronation in Westminster Abbey.

Berrow's Journal told readers: "A section of the Coronation Carpet made by Messrs. Edward Webb and Sons is on view at Worcester Guildhall, and a nominal charge is made for a view of it to aid the funds of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Families Association which offers support to the wives and children of our men fighting the Boers in South Africa.

"The Coronation Carpet is so rich in colouring, so great in size and so effective in design as to be worth an inspection. It is of a rich blue, with a bright sheen and beauty of surface, which nothing else but pure silk could give. It is of mohair which lends itself to the colouring and also offers a delightful springy tread.

"The firm has pride in its manufacture and has spared no pains to make a handsome contribution to the Coronation appointments of Westminster Abbey. The pattern officially supplied is highly symbolic. A lighter blue upon the dark ground is employed for the figures, conspicuous among which are the rose, shamrock, thistle, and the lotus. These are delicately intertwined at the stems and enclosed in scrolls of bay leaves, bound with ribbon.

"Eye catching too is the badge of the Order of the Garter with 'Honi soit qui mal y pense' in bold lettering.

"The carpet, to be laid in three sections, will cover an area of no less than 725 square yards, with an average weight of 8lbs to the square yard, giving a total weight of two-and-a-half tons. It is half-an-inch thick and was manufactured in two widths of 36 inches each, with borders of 18 inches.

'' It will be handed over to the Board of Works to be made up and put down at the Abbey."