Screen to be restored thanks to lottery grant

MEDIEVAL paintings in Combe Martin parish church will be restored to their full glory thanks to a lottery grant.

The Heritage Lottery Fund has given £45,000 towards repairing the ornate rood screen in St Peter Ad Vincula Parish Church.

The cash will help pay for urgent repairs to the timber-work and the cleaning of the 23 paintings of the Saints and Apostles on the screen, many of which are hidden under layers of grease which has built up over the centuries.

The restoration project will show the artwork to its full effect opening the way for various educational events and potentially encouraging hundreds of visitors each year.

Congregation members at the church have worked tirelessly to raise funds for the refurbishment and the Lottery grant is the final piece of the jigsaw.

Reverend Keith Wyer said: "This project will reveal Combe Martin's treasure of 500 years ago.

"This grant with its match-funding has come just in time and we are very grateful."

Elizabeth Webb, rood screen

conservation project manager, said: "This generous voluntary contribution was an essential element in our achieving this award.

"We are really looking forward to holding open-weekends, guided tours, art workshops and talks, to increase learning and understanding of this wonderful heritage.

"We hope the rood screen will bring the whole medieval history of the church and the village alive and give a great deal of enjoyment to everyone."

One of the paintings on the screen is that of St Barbara, the patron saint of miners and architects since Medieval times.

Cleaning tests by Eddie Sinclair last year revealed further paintings of saints and the extensive use of a rich palette of medieval pigments, beneath 500 years of dirt and discoloured varnish.

However the artistry could have been lost forever due to the fragile state of the structure's foundation.

The new project will cost £64,000 and church volunteers have raised a further £18,500 from Devon Historic Churches Trust, Garfield Weston Foundation, Headley Trust (Sainsbury Family), Margaret Clennell Gift Fund and the Idlewild Trust.

Timber consultant Hugh Harrison from West Anstey will start the repairs in February.

The cleaning of the paintings, starting this summer, is expected to last for two years.

Nerys Watts, head of the South West region for the Heritage Lottery Fund, said: "This project will not only conserve a significant and historic structure but will also provide opportunities for the local community and visitors alike to learn about many aspects of the heritage of the area, from medieval music to geology, from embroidery to the natural history of the churchyard."

For further information contact Mrs Webb on 01271-850349 or e-mail e.f.webb@btinternet.com