AN APPEAL has been launched for funds to avoid wasting a series of Christian mosaics in a former Roman Catholic school that’s being demolished to make way for brand new homes in Manchester.
The images, thought to have been created within the 1900s, were a feature of Chorlton Convent School, a part of St John’s RC parish. They were covered over with plasterboard within the early Nineties, when the constructing became Manchester Islamic High School for Girls.
The mosaics were first uncovered by a demolition team in July. A resident sent an image to a fellow resident of Chorlton, Tracey Cartledge, who works in restoration. Ms Cartledge immediately contacted the local council and Historic England to avoid wasting the artwork, she told the BBC.
“It’s made from absolutely beautiful Venetian handmade glass, gold leaf, and a really rare recycled mosaic glass that was made in London for a limited period. The whole thing is incredibly precious — not only due to the materials used — but due to the high-quality of the execution of the work.”
Plumlife HomesThe Venetian-glass mosaics, thought to have been made within the 1900s
Cube Homes, which is developing the positioning, has agreed to pause the demolition. Its managing director, Chris Heath, said that it was now working with Ms Cartledge and residents to search out an answer to “the logistical challenges” of the protected removal of the remaining mosaics, and had committed funds for this.
A separate fund-raising page by residents to support this removal, and to revive, preserve, and have a good time the work, has reached greater than £4700 of its £5500 goal.
“We envision workshops, hands-on activities, and academic opportunities for all ages,” the appeal page says. A final location for the mosaics has yet to be decided.
A former pupil, Ruth Douglass, told the Church Times this week: “Chorlton Convent School holds such special memories for me from the Nineteen Eighties. . . One thing that stood out was the gorgeous mosaic — a chunk of history that dates back to the early 1900s. Thanks to local mosaic specialist Tracey Cartledge, we now have the possibility to avoid wasting it. Restoring it can be a giant job, nevertheless it means a lot to us.”
A separate mural at the doorway to the varsity, thought to have been made much later, and depicting the Madonna and Child, was saved earlier this 12 months after the same appeal. It has since been removed to St Ambrose College, Hale Barns.
