Everyone in the Friends of Whitchurch Road Cemetery in Wem was incredibly relieved and delighted when the Chapel Wall Panels Project was finally completed.
All the conservation work was carried out off-site. The panels were cleaned and stabilised, any damaged areas were realigned and the panels were mounted onto a non-stretchy support material. Analysis of the fibres by Historic England showed that they were not rush but were probably marram grass, although they still do not know where they were made or how they came to be in the chapel. They were stunned and delighted that the reverse side of the panels showed their original vibrant colour and we unanimously decided to display them in this way.
It was a huge honour for the Friends Group to be able to show these rare and intricately patterned panels to the public at their opening event in September 2022. The chapel and grounds were spruced up and there was extreme excitement, especially when the true beauty of the panels was revealed to those assembled. The panels are part of our heritage and have now been saved for future generations.
They remain extremely grateful to Pieta Greaves of Dracon Heritage and Conservation for her painstaking and wonderful work, along with their advisors and sponsors, local and otherwise, for their kind help and generous donations, without which this project would not have been possible.
Wem Rural Parish Council provided financial support for this project and are now looking forward to opening the chapel as often as possible so that the panels can be widely admired.
This small project has recently been shortlisted into the last five for a Museums and Heritage Award, under the category of ‘Restoration or Conservation Project of the Year’. There is strong Competition for this prestigious award and the winner of each category will be announced at a black-tie event in London on 10 May.
We wish the Friends of Whitchurch Road Cemetery good luck.
