Altar painting restoration at St Marie's Church, Widnes
Paintings restoration on the Heritage Lottery Fund redevelopment of St Marie's: altar works in studio and on site, with sold-out public workshops led by Silvano Cioci-Faux.
St Marie's Church, Widnes · Widnes, Halton
Fine art restoration · Conservation
St Marie's Church on Lugsdale Road was redeveloped with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Halton & St Helens VCA. North West Murals Ltd was on the specialist team with responsibility for paintings restoration.
Altar paintings were removed for studio treatment while the building was refurbished. The St Marie's Heritage Group documented the project on stmarieschurch.com, including photography of works in Silvano's workshop and heritage open days inside the church.
Work carried out
- ✓Conservation cleaning and restoration of altar paintings, including haloes and gilded details where the original scheme had darkened over time.
- ✓Studio work with condition recording, then reinstallation as the redevelopment progressed (photographed on site by the project team in 2014).
- ✓Two sold-out public workshops in March 2014 where Silvano explained cleaning solutions, tools and the step-by-step restoration process to local residents.
- ✓Filmed overview and interview for the parish heritage blog, linked below, so the community could follow the craft behind the project.
Outcome
- Altar paintings returned to readable colour and stable condition for worship and heritage interpretation.
- Positive workshop feedback recorded by the Heritage Group, with attendees reporting stronger interest in local heritage after seeing the process.
- Ongoing community programme at St Marie's (events, 360 tour and archives) continues to tell the story of the building alongside later conservation work such as the Pieta restoration.
Official site: St Marie's Church, Widnes
Film and archives
The client heritage team filmed work during the project. Videos are on YouTube and linked from their public blog posts.
Silvano explains his painting restoration process (St Marie's workshop, March 2014). View on the client site Interview with Silvano Cioci-Faux on heritage restoration and his career. View on the client site
Project photography
Silvano Cioci-Faux cleaning the Gabriel reredos panel with a cotton swab 
Silvano Cioci-Faux explaining restoration to workshop attendees beside the altar panel 
Silvano Cioci-Faux preparing a conservation cleaning solution beside the reredos panel 
Silvano Cioci-Faux cleaning the altar panel with a head-mounted magnifier while the workshop group watches 
Silvano Cioci-Faux with workshop attendees standing behind the table in the site office 
Gabriel reredos panel laid flat on the workbench with cotton swabs and cleaning materials 
Silvano Cioci-Faux standing with workshop visitors behind the altar panel on the table 
Silvano Cioci-Faux holding a conservation product while explaining the process to a visitor 
Silvano Cioci-Faux showing before and after photographs on a tablet to the workshop group 
Workshop visitors gathered around the Gabriel panel while Silvano stands by with a magnifying visor 
Four workshop visitors examining a reredos panel under a work lamp in the site office 
Silvano Cioci-Faux explaining the panel restoration to workshop attendees wearing conservation gloves 
Heritage workshop group in hard hats viewing St Marie's nave and organ through scaffolding 
Heritage workshop attendees in hi-vis vests touring the church interior during building works 
St Marie's sanctuary and nave filled with scaffolding during the Heritage Lottery Fund redevelopment
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