St Edmunds Parish Church
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
St Edmunds Catholic Parish is one of oldest parishes in East Anglia, and the current church building dates from 1837. The restoration of the apse and chancel was the final stage in a three-year project to prepare the church for the 250th anniversary of the First Mass celebrated in the parish.
The work undertaken by Campbell Smith & Co operatives included a wide range of specialist painting and decorating skills. The scheme was shortlisted for the King of Prussia Gold Medal by the National Churches Trust, and was Very Highly Commended by the judges from the Painting & Decorating Association who visited, and complimented the “good use of colour and very fine detailing”, including;
- Scagliola (marbling) of the columns, involving hand painting in successive layers of colour to achieve the marble effect required
- Gilding of the egg and dart detailing of the ionic capitals
- Signwriting of the lettering
- Design, layout, stencilling and hand painting of the tri-colour cruciform decoration of the walls framing the apse
- Cleaning, restoration and re-gilding of the mural in the apse