Mural of Shakespeare poem in 'terrible' condition

An expert has described the condition of what is believed to be a 17th Century mural of a William Shakespeare poem as "terrible".

The artwork was found in the Grade II* listed White Hart Hotel in St Albans, Hertfordshire. It is being examined to determine more precisely when it dates from and how to preserve it.

The deteriorating treasure is kept behind glass screens at pottery shop Pots of Art, which is part of the 15th Century hotel building.

After early analysis Dr Andrea Kirkham, a wall painting conservation expert, said: "The quality of the painting is absolutely fantastic and the condition of the painting is terrible."

The mural depicts the Greek legend of Venus and Adonis.

It is thought to date from within 10 years of William Shakespeare's poem about the pair, published in 1593.

As the artwork is slowly disintegrating, St Albans and Hertfordshire Architectural and Archaeological Society (Arc & Arc) is hoping the new research will determine how to "preserve this treasure for posterity".

Dr John Morewood, from Arc & Arc, said: "If we can actually prove that this is a late Tudor or early Jacobean painting of very high quality, that will help us say that actually St Albans' importance is continuous."

It was first discovered during building work at the hotel in 1985.

It was photographed and reported by local press before being hidden away again behind panelling in 1986.

Later shop owners exposed it again and put it on display behind glass doors.

The current shop owner, George Georgiou, has had to partially close for a week to let experts do their work.

"I couldn't believe it was here in this shop. Over the years I did my research and I have become a mini expert, it has been wonderful to have it here," he said.

Once Kirkham has analysed the mural and written her report it could be considered for restoration, but the cost of conservation work could run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

She said: "The first things we'd have to do would be to stabilise the plaster, which is detaching really badly.

"There's great big huge bulges, lots of cracks and lots of holes. Once that's stabilised, then we can look at cleaning."

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