24 October 2016
Too often Scene & Word has had to report on threats to the public work of Jonah Jones, or highlight cases of damage. So it is good to find instances of well-preserved work at churches that are not facing imminent closure.
Members of the Board of Scene & Word Ltd recently visited the Catholic Church of St Patrick in Newport, and were pleased to find most of the artwork there in excellent condition. In particular it was good to see that the south-facing dalle de verre window has suffered only very minor damage after more than 50 years in situ [click here for images of the window (the first two in the Stained Glass gallery) and the other artworks (images 7 to 11 in the Busts and Other Media gallery)].
This contrasts with the fate of glass installed during the same period at the Church of the English Martyrs at Hillmorton, Rugby [click here for story: scroll down to ‘Jonah Jones windows at Rugby church lost’ (January 2014)].
Peter Jones, a Board member, also visited the Catholic Church of St Augustine of Canterbury at Meir, on the southern outskirts of Stoke-on-Trent. Jonah’s fine sculpture of St Augustine stands on the east façade of the church, and looks as good as new after over half a century there.
