Newbury Coat remake at Corn Exchange

The race against time continued today (Sunday) to turn wool from a sheep's back into a furnished coat in under 12 hours

THE making of the Newbury Coat, a race against time in which 150 spinners, carders, tailors race attempt to turn wool from a sheep's back into a furnished coat in under 12 hours entered its final few hours at the Corn Exchange, Newbury today.

Spinners and weavers frantically worked their magic for over five hours yesterday before packing away and resuming this morning.

Slightly behind by around one hour overnight, organisers were optimistic the record could still be broken today.

The practice dates back to 1811 where a 1000 guinea wager saw mill owner John Coxeter oversee the creation of the original coat.

To find out if the record was broken and to see more pictures from the two days, log on to www.newburytoday.co.uk from tomorrow and see the Newbury Weekly News for a full spread.