Restoration of historic wall paintings uncovered at Shrewsbury Cathedral ‘an inspiration’
A senior church member has spoken of his excitement at the discovery of historic wall paintings during a cathedral restoration project.
The artwork by Joseph Aloysius Pippet, uncovered during the work by experts at Shrewsbury Cathedral, is one of a series of finds as part of the restoration efforts.
Specialist team McNeilage Conservation will now look at if it is possible to fully recover the paintings, which were hidden under two layers of cream emulsion in the 1950s.
Sophie Andreae, Vice Chair of the Patrimony Committee of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, said the restoration work being carried out was an “inspiration”.
She said: “The discovery of the elaborate and colourful wall paintings surviving in such good condition under layers of modern cream paint is very exciting.
“The careful current restoration project which will see the unsympathetic alterations carried out in the 1970s and 1980s reversed and the interior of Shrewsbury Cathedral restored to its former glory is an inspiration.
"So many of our fine Victorian churches were damaged during the changes that came in with Vatican II.
“Sadly, this was just the moment when appreciation of Victorian architecture in this country was at its nadir and as a result much wonderful Victorian craftsmanship in our historic churches was lost.
“A growing appreciation of historic Catholic church buildings, and in particular their interiors, in recent years is leading to a re-evaluation of what was done back then and a welcome desire to restore beauty and colour to our buildings based on sound historical research and careful exploratory investigations by conservators.
“This is exemplified by the recent work at Shrewsbury.”
The discoveries include three sections of a painting on the upper north wall of the sanctuary showing the Archangel Gabriel visiting the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Annunciation, decorated also with images of a dove, a lily, star motifs, symbols for Mary and Latin inscriptions on scrolls.
The conservation team has been able to expose a section of Mary’s robe as well as two other parts of the painting.
On the south wall of the cathedral a fleur de lys and crown painted in red and green have also been revealed during the exploratory work. The largest single painting is high on the sanctuary arch and shows Jesus Christ seated in glory in the presence of the Virgin Mary and St Joseph.
Conservators have yet to reveal any section of the image.
The discoveries are part of project to restore the Cathedral to the original glory envisaged by its architect, Augustus Welby Pugin, and its patron, John Talbot, the Earl of Shrewsbury.
The project is expected to run for at least two years and so far has involved the return of the sanctuary almost to its original design, a process which uncovered thousands of neo-Gothic revival floor tiles.
A wrought iron cross has been restored, repainted and returned to the cathedral’s roof, while the bell has also been restored, repaired and cleaned, and is now able to chime again after nearly 50 years of silence.
