The Letter M
COPY
DONALD W. INSALL
AND ASSOCIATES
CHARTERED ARCHITECTS
AND PLANNING CONSULTANTS
DONALD W. INSALL, A.R.I.B.A.,
A.M.T.P. I.. 5.P Dip .
ASSOCIATES:
PETER, E. LOCKE, A.R.I.B.A.
AILWYN BEST. B.ARCH.,
A.R.I.B.A.
IONA R.EID, Dipl. ARCH.,
A.R.I.B.A.
ALAN FROST, A.A.Dipl.,
A.R.I.B.A.
44, QUEEN ANNE'S GATE, ST.
JAMES'S PARK, S.W. I. TEL. (01) 930. 5858
BCE/DWI/AW. 11th June, 1963.
Dear Mr. Simmons,
Blackmore Church
We have now heard from Mrs.
Eve Baker about her recent visit to inspect the traces of wall painting
discovered at Blackmore. She reports as follows:-
"I visited this Church in
May 1963. At the time of my visit, there were workmen in the church
limewashing, leaving untouched the areas where colour had been discovered.
However, I feel this is a case where more might have been found had I been
asked to inspect before redecoration had begun, as I found traces of detailed
painting on the face of the south arcade.
What has come to light are
clearly symbols, apart from the first arch where the red paint sometime formed
a background for the rood.
All the colour now visible is
on the north arcade. The first is on the inner face of the arch on the west
side and consists of a cross roughly painted in red with, below it, an M-shape motif.
This 'M’ could well be the monograph of the Virgin, even though it must have
been painted after the Reformation. The only other thing it could be is the mark
of the painter. On the next pier, the motif is repeated with a cross and M-shape
very roughly painted on a lime ground. If the M is a painter's mark, this is a very
rare thing to find in England although they have been found in Scandinavia.
There are plenty of Mason's marks and I know of a plasterer's mark but if this
is a painter’ss mark it is the first one I have come across, and I think it is
important to keep it.
The cost of cleaning,
conserving and dealing with the area in the immediate vicinity of these two
paintings would cost about £30-£45. Scaffolding would not be necessary but a
tall step-ladder would be needed."
It does seem-a good idea that this
interesting and possibly valuable example should be cleaned and conserved; and
we would be most interested to receive your instructions whether you would like
this done.
We are forwarding Mrs. Baker's
account for her visit and may I take it that you would like to clear this one
direct? I believe this one was agreed in advance with Mr. Atwell.
I take it, by the way, that a
tall step-ladder could be made available?
Yours sincerely
[Signed: Donald Insall]
C. Simmons, Esq.,
Orchard Manor,
Blackmore, Essex
cc. Rev. M. Knott.
