The Shrine and Parish Church of St Oswald and St Edmund Arrowsmith on Liverpool Road is a French Romanesque landmark completed in 1930, with Harry Clarke glass and fixtures by noted designers including William G. Simmonds.
In the St Joseph chapel, Simmonds' multi panel altarpiece from 1935 narrates the life of Saint Joseph in an Arts and Crafts idiom. The parish celebrated its recent conservation with a solemnity Mass filmed for the parish YouTube channel.
Silvano Cioci Faux carried out the restoration and conservation treatment, aligning with other ecclesiastical work across the Archdiocese of Liverpool.
The 1935 altarpiece
In the St Joseph chapel, Simmonds' multi panel altarpiece from 1935 narrates the life of Saint Joseph in an Arts and Crafts idiom. Silvano Cioci Faux carried out the conservation treatment, including cleaning, stabilisation and inpainting where the narrative panels needed to read clearly in worship again.
Parish celebration
The parish celebrated the restored altarpiece with a solemnity Mass filmed for the parish YouTube channel, the priest introducing the conserved work to the congregation.
Outcome
- Altarpiece returned to stable condition for daily Mass and devotions in the St Joseph chapel.
- Parish celebration of the restoration documented on video, with the priest introducing the conserved work to the congregation.
- Reference for other inter war Catholic interiors with combined architect and artist programmes in the North West.
Official site: St Oswald's Church, Ashton in Makerfield
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