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Conservation funds secured for rare church frescoes

Katy Prickett
News imageHilary Rule/Ickleton Church A 12th Century mural of the Last Supper painted onto a wall, with a small window cut into the stonework. The Last Supper is on the left and shows a long table with men with halos sitting behind it, and their legs sticking out beneath. In front of the extreme left is a male figure, in front of the table reaching up to take something off it. The wall paintings continue into the window enclosure and on to the right.Hilary Rule/Ickleton Church
The Last Supper, showing Christ and his Apostles at their last meal, with a man kneeling in front, believed to be Judas

Conservation work is shortly to begin on a set of rare 12th Century church frescoes which were discovered after an arson attack.

Restoration work on St Mary Magdalene's Church in Ickleton, near Cambridge, revealed the forgotten wall paintings after the fire in 1979.

The frescoes, which include the story of Christ's Passion, are "among the earliest series of wall paintings of this quality in the country", said vicar Lydia Smith.

They are now in need of further conservation, made possible by a £244,684 National Lottery Heritage Grant. Work will begin in April.

News imageHilary Rule/Ickleton Church The interior of St Mary Magadalen Church Ickleton, Cambrideshire. The lower half shows the wooden pews above are white arches with faded medieval frescoes. Hilary Rule/Ickleton Church
The paintings are faded now but would once have covered the church in vivid, colourful stories drawn from the Bible

The frescoes were painted directly onto the fresh plaster walls shortly after the church was completed during the Norman era (1066 to 1154).

Smith, who is the vicar of Hinxton and Ickleton as well as the rector of Duxford, said: "Most churches were painted at this time, but it is the quality of these ones that stands out; you can go to much grander places like St Albans Cathedral and see possibly similar paintings.

"They are clearly very, very high quality, not painted by your local guys, but are also surprising for this little tiny village in the middle of nowhere."

News imageCopyright Hilary Rule/Ickleton Church 11 people standing in a church, in front of a window and above them are medieval frescoes. They are a mix of men and women plus one girl. The pulpit is to the right. Above them is an elaborate ironwork electric lamp. Copyright Hilary Rule/Ickleton Church
A team of volunteers began working on the project years before Lydia Smith (fifth from the right) arrived in the parish

Smith, who arrived in the parish four years ago, said she was still drawn to the Last Supper scene every time she entered the building.

"They are a wonderful way of understanding the stories and being in touch with the medieval people who went to St Mary Magdalene hundreds of years ago," she said.

"You're in touch with the practice of story telling and spirituality from an ancient time."

Christ's Passion also covers his arrest and trial, ending with his execution on the cross.

News imageHilary Rule/Ickleton Church A 14th Century church wall painting showing the last judgement. In the middle is a very large Christ with a halo, long hair over his shoulders and a beard. He is raising his hands. On the left is the Virgin Mary, who has blonde hair and is raising her hands above her head, with her dress ripped to her waist. On the left is a male figure, with a beard and raising his hands in payer. Other figures are above them. Hilary Rule/Ickleton Church
The Doom Painting, with its unusual depiction of a grief-stricken Virgin Mary (left), is not as complete as the earlier frescoes

As well as the 12th Century frescoes, there is a 14th Century Doom painting, which depicts the Last Judgement.

"You can see quite a lot of the earlier frescoes, but much of this one is lost," said Smith.

"It does have one unusual feature, the Virgin Mary is seen bare-breasted as a sign of grief - she's been rending her garments - this is a real rarity in church wall paintings."

A routine five-year assessment of the church building revealed the need for conservation, partly as a result of bats living in the nave roof and tower.

Windows above the frescoes were also letting in moisture.

These will be restored first, with the work scheduled to safeguard the bat roost, while conservation work on the frescoes should start in the autumn.

Smith paid tribute to the "massive team effort" from villagers, who have spent years building local support and fundraising for the project.

They have also set up a Friends of Ickleton Church "as another way of encouraging people to treasure their treasure locally", she added.

The project will run until next March when a celebration event will be held to unveil the conserved paintings.

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