One of Britain’s leading heritage campaign groups has joined forces with a Jewish artist’s family to save a work he created for a Catholic church after fleeing Nazi persecution.
George Mayer-Marton created his striking Crucifixion with a highly unusual combination of mosaic and painted fresco for Holy Rosary Church in Fitton Hill, Oldham. But the Diocese of Salford decided to close the church three years ago and concern is growing that the mural is deteriorating and is increasingly in danger of decay, vandalism, theft and even destruction if the building is redeveloped.
The eight-metre-high mosaic was installed in the church in the 1950s and is made of natural stone and glass tesserae, giving it a striking sheen, typical of Byzantine work. The original piece had frescoes depicting St John to Jesus’ left and the Virgin Mary to his right, but these were covered over with white emulsion in 1980.
It is one of the most notable ecclesiastical works of art in the North West but is at risk because Salford diocese decreed Holy Rosary redundant as part of its restructuring plan, begun in 2017, that involved amalgamating 100 churches and closing 22. At the time the Bishop of Salford, John Arnold, said: “This plan is a real chance to make changes that will help build, sustain and grow parishes fit for future generations.”
Save Britain’s Heritage has written to Historic England, the body responsible for listing buildings, urging it to protect the mural. It describes it “as an incredibly rare, well executed and important mural”. Other bodies have highlighted the importance of the Crucifixion including the Twentieth Century Society and the Tiles and Architectural Ceramics Society. Experts say the frescoes remain intact under the paint and it is possible to restore the mural to its original state.
Cartoon by Pugh
George Mayer-Marton was a respected artist in his native Vienna before fleeing to Britain after the Anschluss in 1938. He later learned that members of his family perished in the Holocaust.
He revived mosaic work in Britain and, as well as his Crucifixion for the Holy Rosary, he created an image of Pentecost for the Church of the Holy Ghost in Netherton, later transferred to Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral.
Mayer-Marton’s great-nephew, Nick Braithwaite, has been campaigning to save the Crucifixion mural and is concerned that the diocese has indicated a new home for the piece might be the solution. “I have learnt not only about the aesthetic importance of the unity of the fresco element with the mosaic, but also the spiritual unity of the work with the architectural space in which it resides,” he said.
Fr Philip Sumner, parish priest of Our Lady and St Patrick’s which now incorporates what was Holy Rosary Parish, St Mary’s Oldham and St Patrick’s Oldham, told The Tablet: “The mosaic in question has become very important for some parishioners. But why? For some, it has been an important part of their lives and worship for many years and they have come to love it.”
He acknowledged that some wished very much to keep the church of the Holy Rosary in Oldham open.
“The congregation there was, relatively speaking, very small and there simply aren’t the priests available to keep many of our diocesan churches open,” he said. “This is a situation that is being experienced across the dioceses of England and Wales and elsewhere at the moment, and many churches have had to close.
“When art works are easily moved, and installed elsewhere, there is rarely an issue. However with the Mayer-Marton crucifixion icon, it would be quite expensive to move. I believe that the cross itself and the figure on it are on some metal framework and could possibly be moved but the elliptical mosaic work around the cross is, I think, placed straight onto the wall. Sadly, the artwork had perhaps already lost some of its integrity when, more than 30 years ago, the images of Mary and the evangelist, John, were painted over.”
The mosaic as it is now, without the images of Mary or John the Evangelist. Pic by Fr Philip Sumner.
He continued: “I have had some interest for the artwork from another parish, but when they heard that the images of Mary and John were no longer part of the work, the interest quickly disappeared. There was also some interest in the work from another group that was being explored by the diocese but perhaps the cost of removing and reinstalling the work have meant that this interest too has stalled.
“With so many of these things, if the artwork was so appreciated, then I suspect there would be a buyer, whatever the cost of moving it. However, there’s no buyer or group of buyers. Again, I suspect that perhaps the reason for that is that the artwork has already lost its integrity when the images of Mary and the evangelist, John, were painted over.”
He said the diocese centrally had taken over use of the church building, at least on a temporary basis. “So, at the moment, there are no plans to return the building to community use. Initially, I had hoped to use the building as a community facility but then, there were some problems with the roof and the cost of converting the building appropriately and of replacing the roof would create too much of a debt for the remaining Catholics of the area at this moment. So, I just can’t see that happening in the forseeable future.”