Race to save 'incredibly precious' hidden mosaics

The mosaics were discovered hidden behind wooden panels midway through demolition work

A series of "incredibly precious" mosaics, crafted with handmade Venetian glass, look set to be saved, after coming minutes away from being destroyed.

The "beautifully designed" friezes of Catholic iconography were discovered hidden behind wooden panels by builders, midway through work to bulldoze part of the former Chorlton Convent High School for Girls.

A group of local residents, including Tracey Cartledge - who works in restoration, spotted the mosaics and intervened at the last moment, and are now fundraising to have them safely removed and restored.

Developer Cube Homes, which was in the throes of demolishing the school to develop new homes, has agreed to partially fund the restoration.

The frieze was installed high on the walls of the ground-floor chapel building

It is thought the mosaics, estimated to have been created in the early 1900s, were missed by planners having been covered over when the site was taken over by the Manchester Islamic High School for Girls around 1991.

Plans by Cube Homes for 22 new homes at the site were subsequently approved, and demolition work began earlier this year.

Tracey said a friend, who lives opposite the site, spotted the mosaic being uncovered by the demolition team at the end of July and sent her a picture.

She remembers thinking, 'wow, I had no idea this was there. Is it about to be demolished? I better do something right now'.

Builders uncovered the displays of Catholic iconography while removing walls

Having flagged the discovery to fellow colleagues in the art world, she and others immediately got in touch with local councillors and Historic England in an effort to save the mosaics.

Soon after, she drove to the site to take a look for herself.

"It's made of absolutely beautiful Venetian handmade glass, gold leaf, and a very rare recycled mosaic glass that was made in London for a limited period," she explains.

"The whole thing is incredibly precious - not just because of the materials used - but because of the high-quality of the execution of the work".

Tracey Cartledge is leading a team to remove and preserve the mosaics

Tracey, who is from Chorlton, has drawn on her contacts in the world of restoration to put together a team of freelancers to begin the work of carefully stripping off the mosaic once a scaffold has been erected.

She said they hope to start work next week removing the tiles in "manageable sections", and slowly lowering them into crates.

When dividing the sections, "we have to ensure we're not going to make a division line through an angel's face", she said, highlighing the meticulous planning required.

But the pressures of the demolition schedule mean the restoration team have a deadline of 24 August, meaning there is a possibility not all the mosaics will be saved.

Chris Heath, who is the managing director at Cube Homes said the firm were working collaboratively with Tracey and others to "find a solution to the logistical challenges around the mosaic removal".

The developer said it had committed "funds and time to remove this mosaic as efficiently and as safely as possible so that the development can proceed".

Generations of local children went to the Catholic school in Chorlton

The latest discovery comes after a separate mural depicting the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus at the entrance to the school was saved earlier this year.

That mosaic, though to have been made much later, was painstakingly taken down and removed to St Ambrose College in Hale Barns after a successful restoration effort.

Ruth Douglas, a former pupil at the school in the 1980s, said a group of ex-students on Facebook helped raise thousands to save that mosaic.

"It's a piece of our history, and obviously from a personal perspective, it's a memory," she said.