This Saturday (September 18th) we are holding the third of our monthly craft markets at St Mark’s, Alma Lane, Hale, GU9 0LT, from 10am.
We will be busier than ever this month, with stalls ranging from crochet to dried flowers, jewellery to upcycled garden items, pottery to glass, Brazilian sweets to preserves, ceramics to cards, floral designs to silks, and plenty more besides.
Come and browse, come and support local creatives, come and enjoy tasty rolls and cakes, come and listen to live music, come and see the Kitty Milroy murals! It opens at 10am and runs until 2pm. Everyone is welcome.
Restoration of the Kitty Milroy murals is complete!
Thanks to the amazing skill of Stephen Rickerby and Lisa Shekede, wall-painting conservationists, the murals in St Mark’s Church have been stabilised and can be seen as they once were when first painted by Kitty Milroy between 1911 and 1920.
The murals were revealed on Friday to a small gathering of people, many of whom had donated to the restoration, and Nick Seversway, a picture restorer whose passion for the murals has driven forward the work, and Rev’d Lesley Crawley gave a joint talk on Kitty and on the content of the murals.
The murals themselves depict Biblical imagery, in particular the Annunciation, when the Angel Gabriel told Mary she would conceive and give birth to Jesus, and the Benedicite, a song which appears in some versions of the Bible and in which all parts of creation are called upon to praise God, from the heavens to the waters, the sun, moon, stars and elements, the mountains and hills, the cattle, the people, ‘all that are holy and humble in heart’.
We need to look after the murals for the future and are still fundraising to help do so, and to improve the lighting so that they can be better seen. We have set up a crowdfunding page to do so – please do support us. Click here to find out more.
On the evening when the murals were revealed there was also a presentation of a book by the Church Recorders, a group which has been recording everything in St Mark’s along with its provenance and history.
Because of Covid restrictions there are limits on the numbers who can see the murals at any one time but visits can be arranged. Please contact the administrator, Stella Wiseman, for details.
The sun is out and so is the June magazine! This month’s magazine is packed full of news and events about our parish which isn’t confined to the villages we serve locally – lovely though they all are! Being online has allowed us to reach out far further and welcome people who can’t be with us physically.
Take the flower festival for instance. Among the 300+ entries were ones from friends of the parish from around the country. Take a look at some of the entries in the magazine and, of course, online.
There’s news of upcoming events – Father’s Day’s an important one as is the fete on July 3 – new classes, new rooms, a new business, our new youth hub, the new mayor and North Farnham councillor, along with lots more including Kitty Milroy and her media-starring murals, prayer, Jeremy Hunt, appeals for help, schools news, the Church Cat and more.
Following Kitty Milroy’s exposure in the national news, people have been asking us how we can carry on supporting the murals and give Kitty the recognition she deserves.
We need to ensure that they are protected and preserved for generations to come and also spread the news about her and her extraordinary talent. So, we are fundraising for the ongoing conservation and to pay for the roof which has had to be mended to keep the murals safe from the elements.
The Kitty Milroy Murals at St Mark’s have made the national news, following a visit by Sky News reporter Shingi Mararike.
The murals, which are undergoing restoration at the moment, have been recognised as being of national importance in the development of mural art and the work of a considerable, but so far unacknowledged, talent.
The first stage of restoring the murals at St Mark’s Church has begun.
The murals, which are of significant national importance in the development of 20th-century mural painting, are being stabilised and cleaned by the internationally renowned mural conservationists Stephen Rickerby and Lisa Shekede. They were painted between 1911 and 1920 by local woman Eleanor Catherine Wallace Milroy (‘Kitty’) using other local people as models.
The murals blend influences from European Symbolist painting and the Arts and Crafts Movement and were featured in a recent talk by art historian, lecturer and author Olive Maggs for the Arts and Crafts Movement in Surrey. Comparisons have been made with pictures in The Watts Chapel and it is known that Mary Watts visited the area.
Stephen Rickerby and Lisa Shekede will be in the church for the next 10 weeks in order to complete this stage of the restoration.
The March issue of the parish magazine is out with plenty to read inside: Lent, Easter, Mothering Sunday, school news, our new florist who moves into St Mark’s at the start of the month, exciting news about the Kitty Milroy murals and Emily the organ, prayer, news from the parish and the local MP, the Church Cat and lots more.
You can find the magazine below. But if you would like a paper copy, please let us know by emailing Anne Young: ah_young33@hotmail.com
The cover price of the magazine is £10 for the year which pays for the editorial costs. We would be grateful if those accessing it online would pay £1 an issue. You can pay by clicking on the button below:
Did you miss the opportunity to see the Caravan Jazz event on May 4th, when Wendy Edwards and the Teddy’s Café Bar Jazzmen played music and told stories from the life of Ted and Jean Parratt, Wendy’s parents? Fear not, it can be seen by clicking the below links, videos thanks to Seamus Flanagan. The evening raised money for the Kitty Milroy murals, at St Mark’s Church, Upper Hale:
Featured are Michael Atkinson R.I.P. bass guitar/ukelele, Kendall Gordon – keyboard, Hugh Lister- clarinet, David Mason-trumpet, Geoff Rideout-guitar, Roger Sinclair- keyboard, Wendy Edwards- vocals, Melissa Heathcote-vocals, Mike Twiddy-vocals and Frances Whewell-piano
If you would like to donate to the Murals fund then please click on the icon below.
At St Mark’s Church, Upper Hale, painted on the walls of the chancel is a unique piece of local history. About a hundred years ago, Kitty Milroy, a local artist, painted local people and local scenes in murals. The paintings now are in a precarious condition. There is curling of the paint and paint losses and areas where the paintings have been rubbed over many years resulting in a powdering of the paint. In order to save this piece of our local heritage, St Mark’s needs to apply to various organizations for grants in order to stabilise the loose paint as conservation is the first and most important goal. Once this has been done, then filling and restoration can take place hopefully with further funding. But you may be able help.
Nick Seversway, a local restorer of paintings says, “What we need to do to put a case for grants is to gather as much info as is possible and this is where you come in. There are some names linked to the figures, but we would love to know exactly who posed for which picture. Also there was once a huge amount of preliminary drawings and paintings does anyone know what happened to them? The biggest mystery is Kitty Milroy herself. She was the daughter of the Vicar of Carisbrooke whose mother moved the family to The Oast House between 1902 and 1911 after his death. Does anyone know where Kitty trained in art? Did she paint any other pictures?
All and any info will help in our bid to save this unique piece of local history.
I am a restorer of 35 years’ experience working locally and in London. This work is no run of mill amateur work. It is simply rendered but well drawn, perfectly set in its patterned surround and a huge undertaking for one very talented woman.”
The Parish of Badshot Lea and Hale 