Tag Archives: Stephen Rickerby and Lisa Shekede

Kitty Milroy has been commemorated with a plaque in Farnham

Kitty Milroy, the artist responsible for the murals in St Mark’s Church, has been commemorated with a plaque on the ‘Famous Names of Farnham’ wall in Farnham’s town centre.

The plaque was unveiled on September 21st by Cllr Alan Earwaker, Mayor of Farnham; Nick Seversway, who led the work in organising the restoration of the murals and who is an expert on Kitty Milroy; and Rev’d Lesley Crawley.

The plaque now takes its place on Farnham’s ‘wall of fame’, in South Street, celebrating local luminaries, including writer and politician William Cobbett, racing driver Mike Hawthorn and cricketer Graham Thorpe.

Kitty Milroy (pictured below) was born Eleanor Catherine Milroy in 1885 in Newnham, Hampshire, but lived almost all her life in the Farnham area. From 1906 onwards, she enrolled in the Slade School of Art — a renowned centre for innovation in mural art — which had recently opened its doors to female students, and between 1911 and 1920 she created the murals in St Mark’s. between 1911 and 1920. They represent local scenes and Biblical passages and the figures in them were modelled by locals at the time. In 2021 they were restored by conservators Rickerby and Shekede.

Further information is available here.

Pictured clockwise from top left: Kitty Milroy; members of the parish Arts and Crafts committee at the unveiling – from left: Chriss Green, Nick Seversway, Bob Shatwell, Jean Sanders, Lesley Crawley and Alan Crawley; Kitty’s plaque; apple tree from Kitty’s murals; figures from Kitty’s murals.

Pictured top: the unveiling of the plaque.

A Kitty Birthday Celebration

Come and celebrate the Kitty Milroy murals and Kitty herself at St Mark’s on November 7th at a special communion service at 11am, with the Bishop of Dorking and the mural restorers Stephen Rickerby and Lisa Shekede, and a concert and talk at 7pm.

The now-famous murals were restored earlier this year and new lighting has been installed so that they can be seen in their full glory. They are now recognised as being of national importance and a jewel in Surrey’s crown. So, on the day before the anniversary of Kitty’s birth in 1885 and, coincidentally, her death in 1966, we want to invite everyone to St Mark’s for a celebration.

The morning celebration will be a communion service at which the Rt Rev’d Jo Bailey Wells, Bishop of Dorking, will preach, and there will be a chance to hear from Stephen Rickerby and Lisa Shekede who spent 10 weeks painstakingly restoring the murals between April and June this year. In the evening there will be music, talks on the murals and Kitty, along with refreshments and, of course, the chance to see the murals.

Everyone is welcome at both the service and the evening celebration and there will be no charge, but to keep numbers manageable, particularly in the face of Covid, the evening event will be by ticket only. To book your tickets, click here.

The murals were painted between 1911 and 1920 and depict the Annunciation – the meeting between Mary and the Angel Gabriel when Mary is told she will be the mother of Jesus – as well as scenes from the Benedicite, an ancient hymn of praise to God about the wonders of the natural world, and local views. There are figures depicting the natural elements and seasons, and the models for these figures are known to be local people. The whole is a stunning creation by a hugely talented artist and the murals and Kitty herself are finally being given the recognition they deserve.

Come and celebrate this amazingly talented artist and her work.