An unusual restoration project is under way in Preston, not on a building but a garment.
The medieval chasuble, an outer vestment worn by a priest at
Mass, has been described as "one of the finest pieces of pre-Reformation
embroidery".
It belongs to the parish of St John's Roman Catholic Church in Poulton.
Lancashire Museums Conservation Studio in Preston is
restoring it through a £10,000 Heritage Lottery grant. It will be
unveiled next year.
Eleanor Palmer, conservation officer for textiles, said it
was an exciting opportunity to work on the vestment which she thought
dated from about 1480.
"It's a one piece garment that slips over the head, in colour
it's a very dark red, of very fine quality and the embroidered panel
down the front called the orphrey is embroidered in three sections each
depicting a different saint," she said.
"The back is embroidered, with the Holy Ghost represented by a dove, in the central section is the crucifixion."
The chasuble is also seen by the church's parishioners as a
great asset and some of them will be helping with the restoration of the
historical garment.
Anne Robinson first saw the vestment in 1987 when it was put
on display to mark the church's 75th anniversary.
Alongside the vestment
was a report from London's Victoria and Albert Museum.
Centenary celebrations
"It said the chasuble was one of the finest pieces of pre-Reformation embroidery they had ever seen," Mrs Robinson said.
"After a year or two I thought about it and realised it was
quite a priceless object and worth having it assessed and restored, so
at that point I got in touch with the conservation studio."
The priest's vestment is thought to date from medieval times
The cost in time and money was something the Lancashire church
could not fund entirely themselves, so it was a relief when the good
news of the lottery grant came through.
"It will need a new lining, new silk ribbon to replace the
old damaged ribbon, it will take Eleanor a lot of time to restore it,"
Mrs Robinson added.
"The major cost will be a specially designed cabinet to display it. We have a target of September 2012 to get it restored, when
the church will celebrate its centenary, Father Webb wants to make it
the focus of the celebrations."
The challenge of restoring the chasuble is one the whole church and conservation centre is looking forward to.
"We're just so excited to see something of this quality in Lancashire, it's taught me a lot," said Ms Palmer.
"They say textiles don't talk but actually it's telling us a
lot about how it was made, we need to find out who made it and we hope
there's more to come."