Mosaic reveals the story of 19th Century sisters

The story of two sisters who in 1861 brought back stones from Egypt for a church's mosaic has been unearthed during the building's restoration.

The marble, granite, porphyry and alabaster rocks were collected by Emily and Anne-Louise Baily, aged in their 40s, during their tour of Europe and the Middle East.

The mosaic for the reredos, the wall behind the altar at St Lawrence Church in Great Waldingfield, Suffolk, is currently being restored.

Phil Judd researched the sisters with his wife Dawn.

He said their trip was one "that very few men had even done, let alone for two women, in the sort of clothing they would have had, lack of transportations and the difficulties in getting from A to B".

The Judds carried out extensive research into the lives of the unmarried sisters, who worshipped at the church with their brother, Reverend Waldingfield.

The sisters ventured into difficult terrain, including to Wadi Halfa on the Egypt and Sudan border, "which was an amazing aspect all by itself because very few men had even been able to achieve that", said Mr Judd.

The sisters were from a wealthy background and their relatives were lawyers, baronets and surgeons. They also made efforts to help the poor.

"They had food supplied in the local school for the school children, and that is something that quite often didn't happen," said Mr Judd.

He added that "finding out more about them keeps them alive" and at first there was a dearth of material, until the recent discovery in the US of a book about them, which the researchers were "still in the process of reading".

The sisters' year-long tour saw them returning to Suffolk with a small stone collection, which was sent to Rome to be shaved into thin slices to cover the church's chancel.

"The craftsmanship and the work that's gone into it, it's quite amazing," said church warden Christopher Francis.

"These different materials, these different stones, there's not a grout line between them, they're all intermeshed."

It was established the women only brought back tiny fragments of rock, "about one or two millimeters thick", reducing any chance they might be reclaimed by the country of origin, said the church's vicar, Reverend Faith Marsden.

The mosaic started to fall apart in 2001, but funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Suffolk Historic Churches Trust meant work to preserve it could be carried out.

"A small Suffolk village that has an incredible story from around the world, not only is the reredos revived, so is its history," said Ms Marsden.

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