David and I first visited St. Walburge’s church in 2020. Its spire is said to be the highest of any church in England. It is a shrine church, with good bones, (architecturally, so to speak). Built around 1840, its renovation is currently ongoing.
We have restored several of the statues at the church since then, now including that of saint Walburge the Church’s patron.
IN THE SHADOWS
It can be difficult to photograph statuary in churches well, because of the subdued lighting and shadowy corners which they tend to inhabit. For this reason dear reader, I have provided a link to an image of Saint Walburge's statue taken ten years previously by the well-known Dominican preacher Fr. Lawrence Lew O.P.
The beautifully carved statue of St. Walburger had not fared well, having stood in the shadowy half –light in years past. The full extent of restoration needed could not be appreciated until we got the statue into the full light of day.
Fr. Lew's photograph shows the statue with a roughly cut brocade cloth covering her veil. A few years later, it seems a well- meaning person had attempted to enrich her appearance by adding a layer of gold coloured metal schlag leaf to the front of her garments. This layer was flaking loose when we received her, it seems it had been pasted directly onto the surfaces without the right preparation.The reverse of the statue fared no better, and had been sprayed unevenly with green paint, forming patchy horizontal stripes to her cloak.
PHIAL OF OIL
The top cover of her rule book bore a set of rough saw marks where the phial of healing oil had been removed. It had been placed instead to the base of the statue.An unusual choice, as Icons of St. Walburge, more commonly show her with the phial on her book – and at her feet, occasionally a crown is placed.
St. Walburge before restoration
As part of the restoration, we returned the carved wooden phial of oil to the top of St. Walburge’s rule book, and gilded it in genuine white gold leaf. Although the present day Benedictine sisters collect the Holy Oil (which still exudes from her bones) in a silver receptacle; white gold is less brittle to work with than silver leaf. It hugs curves better than silver and is very close in colour.
Dampness in churches, especially older ones can be problematic for decorative surfaces. White gold contains an amount of silver and has a lower carrot than pure gold, it requires a lacquer coating to prevent it from tarnishing. In keeping with some of the more prominent statues in the sanctuary, the Gold decoration on St. Walburge’s habit was finished in genuine gold leaf which will not tarnish.
ORNAMENTAL DESIGN.
The ornament on statuary is often accomplished by artisans who, in factories for instance, are reproducing a familiar design on several statues of the same model. You could say they know the terrain with all its dips and sweeps.I am often asked to produce a completely new ornamental pattern for statues which have either lost their originals, or the client wishes to upgrade the statue’s appearance in keeping with its significance. As each statue differs in style and complexity, I sometimes feel akin to a cartographer, mapping out a new floral landscape to fit the drapery and gesture for each unique work. The planning of the gold leaf design took a little while, as preliminary ideas and inspirations had to be adjusted to what was possible according to the modelling of the drapery. Designs which proved too intricate were lost in the deeply carved folds, after which head scratching and back to the drawing board moments followed.
walburge design sketches
A Pope whose name escapes me for the moment coined the phrase 'Bold simplicity' when advising on the nature of Church ornament, so that is what I aimed for in this instance
.I wanted to include a crown in the design of her scapular, to note her noble birth, (as daughter of the King of Wessex, St. Richard!) The stylised flower on her scapular has a central petal, echoing the letter 'W' for Walburge. Her name translates as 'rule' and 'fortress' - though I think to include these symbols may have confused rather than informed - a decorative indulgence too far, perhaps!
ST WALBURGE PRAY FOR US!
St. Walburge was a Devonshire girl, and contemporary of St. Boniface, (her uncle) who travelled with her brothers to take the faith to Germany where she is better known due to the abundance of healings God worked through her. I encounter many ancient saints in this type of work. Thus I am reminded that God once blessed the world through England’s Catholic saints who spread the word of God across continents and helped to Christianise the globe.
We always feel it is an honour to restore these sacred images, and our hope is that through them the English people will re-discover the beauty of their ancient Christian roots; and fall in love with them again.
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