Church restoration and decoration rely on many heritage crafts. Obvious examples are stonemasonry, woodcarving, and stained glass. However, decorative painting for churches also draws upon specialist decorating techniques. These include gilding, wood graining and traditional hand painting, which are used both to restore and update our much-loved chapels and churches. It’s always a special honour to be asked to work in these sacred spaces.

Hand Painted World War II Memorial at St Nicholas-in-Castro Chapel

English Heritage approached Nicola Thwaites Specialist Decorating to design and install a memorial dedicated to the fallen of the Second World War at the Chapel of  St Nicolas-in-Castro on the Isle of Wight. A chapel has stood on the site of St Nicholas since shortly after the Norman conquest. It was demolished in 1856 to create a more “romantic looking ruin”.  Located in the grounds of Carisbrooke Castle, architect Percy Stone rebuilt the chapel in 1904 under the patronage of Queen Victoria’s daughter, Princess Beatrice. The chapel was re-consecrated as a memorial to King Charles I, who was imprisoned at Carisbrooke Castle before his execution. Then, in 1929, the chapel was re-dedicated as the County War Memorial to commemorate those who died in  World War One.

Gathering the Names of the Fallen

Over several years, the Isle of Wight’s Lord-Lieutenant’s office championed the project to add a World War Two memorial to the chapel. Then Vice Lord-Lieutenant, Sir Guy Acland Bt, LVO, DL led the effort to secure funding from a number of charities, trusts and individuals. John Matthews, a Deputy Lieutenant and keen local historian, took on the enormous task of gathering and recording the names of those who died. Drawing on war records and war memorials in villages and towns across the Isle of Wight, he retrieved the names of 789 members of the Armed Forces and Merchant Navy killed in action in the Second World War.

Memorial Design Brief

Our brief from English Heritage, which oversees Carisbrooke Castle and managed the memorial project, was to design and transpose the names of the fallen onto 60 oak panels to create a lasting tribute to their sacrifice. Located above fixed pews, the oak panels run the length of both sides of St. Nicolas-in-Castro chapel. The challenge was to reproduce the names in a way that was sympathetic to the existing World War One memorial chiselled in stone above the oak panels. English Heritage wanted the lettering hand painted directly onto the wood, leaving little-to-no margin for error in application and alignment.

Studio Work, Lettering, and Application

I set about wood graining oak sample boards in my studio and onto these painted names in black, dark blue and grey enamel. We presented the samples to English Heritage and the Diocese onsite at the chapel. The clients eventually selected  Admiralty Grey for the lettering to chime with the soft greys of the World War One memorial carved on stone tablets above the oak panels.

We trialled several fonts, and Gill Sans emerged as the final choice. Artist-craftsman Eric Gill designed this humanist, sans serif font in about 1930. The font  offers great clarity and well-balanced letters that fall between the classical and modern styles. It was both an elegant and practical choice for the memorial.

Historic England, English Heritage and the Diocese approved the design, and the painstaking work began. We applied the lettering using a blend of laser cutting technology and hand painting. This technique met the aesthetic goals of the project while also staying within budget. We adapted traditional lithographic printing techniques to line up and position the names .

Service of Dedication

The new Second World War memorial was successfully completed, honouring the sacrifice made by the men and women of the Isle of Wight who fought and died for our freedom. In November 2024, the Bishop of Portsmouth consecrated the memorial in a Service of Dedication. The Isle of Wight’s HM Lord-Lieutenant hosted the event. This was  followed by an annual Field of Remembrance service and the planting of crosses. From the Isle of Wight, a total of 2,413 members of the Armed Services and Merchant Navy were killed in action in both World Wars. Nicola Thwaites Specialist Decorating was honoured to play a part in creating this long-awaited memorial project.

Nicola Thwaites offers a range of specialist decorating services, including decorative painting for churches and hand lettered memorials. We would be happy to discuss your project with you.

 

Church Decoration & Restoration: New Place of Prayer at  All Saints Church, Dulwich, London

Austin Winkley & Associates and the Parish of West Dulwich invited Nicola Thwaites Specialist Decorating to decorate a day chapel at All Saints Church in Dulwich, London. This project entailed reviving an unused part of the church into a place for prayer. The main feature of concept was the backdrop to the new day altar, and we were asked to create a scheme that would feature hand-gilded stars set loosely in the Pisces constellation consonant with the birth of Jesus as the ‘fisher of men’. Onto this gilded backdrop would be hung a magnificent Victorian wrought iron cross in the Gothic Revival style. The neglected cross had been discovered in the vaults and was probably part of the church’s original interior.

Following Prynne’s Lead

Victorian architect G H Fellowes Prynne designed and built the original Dulwich church building in the 1890s. Sadly, in 2000, fire gutted the building. The brief for the decorative scheme for the new Dulwich prayer niche was to follow roughly the pattern used by Prynne for the Day Chapel at Holy Trinity church in Roehampton. The decorative paint scheme to the cross and bracket, including gilding to the rays of the cross, likewise was to follow (although not slavishly) the precedent at Holy Trinity Roehampton. We visited Holy Trinity Roehampton and St Peter’s church in Staines Middlesex, both designed by Prynne, to enhance our understanding of his work.

Hand Painted Night Sky

For the Dulwich project we explored the possibility of one-dimensional plain sky blue backdrop to the gilded stars, as seen at Holy Trinity, Roehampton, versus a more two-dimensional Milky Way or night sky backdrop. The client chose the plain blue backdrop rendered in Farrow and Ball Pitch Blue. This is an historic paint colour consisting of a rich cobalt blue with a little black pigment that renders it almost purple and very suitable for a church setting.

Decorative Church Painting: Gilded Stars and Restored Cross

We painted the gilded stars in varying  sizes to create an impression of depth. In need of restoration, we rejuvenated the iron cross by gilding its 12 rays and the central inscription with gold leaf. By applying traditional specialist techniques to decorative painting for churches, we were able to help to bring an unused and neglected space back to life and into use as a sacred space for the community.

Nicola Thwaites Specialist Decorating offers decorative painting for churches and ecclesiastical interiors. Feel free to contact us to discuss your project.