All Saints Douglas Planning Statement
Planning Statement
All Saints Douglas
Dorothy Nicholson Adoration of the Magi
2000464
In the now closed and about to be sold building of All Saints, Church, Alexander Drive, Douglas, the oil on board painting is found at the west end of the church on the south facing internal wall of the Boiler Room, directly facing the main entrance porch.
It was paid for by "Ship" threepenny pieces collected in Smarties tubes by the Sunday School children. All Saints Church was opened in 1996 and closed exactly 40 years later due to the high cost of restoring a very high building in a parish which already had another even larger church building 900 metres away, St George's Douglas, the oldest church building in Douglas and the Capital Town's Civic Church. We could not afford to keep both and as St George's is in excellent condition, the choice was fairly obvious.
When the building was closed for public worship it was vested in the Diocesan Board of Finance and the Archdeacon was mandated to find an alternative use for the building. We decided to try to sell it, but first had to establish title. This was finally granted in January 2020, and the building put on the market. A buyer has been found, and we are in the process of completing the sale.
The parishioners who worship with us at St George's with All Saints but formerly worshipped in the All Saints building are especially keen to remove as much as they can from the closed church and we have made much use of the church furnishings in St George's: the nave altar with its candles and cross, is now in the newly refurbished Chapel of Remembrance, along with a Bishop's Chair, two sanctuary chairs, a lectern and a Creedence Table; there are three other Sanctuary Chairs now in the Chancel of St George's. We have made replicas of the Memorial West windows and installed them in a newly formed oak screen.
We would now like to save this painting and install it on the west facing interior wall of our Entrance Lobby, which forms a room where our children gather for their own worship and learning during Sunday morning services.
The Arts Council have made a grant of matched funding towards the £3,000 cost of the necessary works.
Chris Weekes, MNH paintings specialist has been to view the painting in situ and reports that it is definitely worth saving because it's by Dorothy Nicholson, wife of John, and she is under represented in the paintings of hers which have survived. The painting is on a panel, probably hardboard or some such composite material, and quite thin panelling at that, which will make its removal fairly straightforward, but due to its flexibility at a high risk of damage. He thinks we probably won't be able to save the border/frame. He has indicated that if we fail to gain a faculty to put in St George's, then the Manx Museum would be interested. (An expedited faculty was granted).
The potential new owners of the building are content for it to be removed.
From the attached photos you will see that the wood panelling continues behind the picture and its frame, but that the frame has some anchor points to the wood panelling and almost certainly through to the structure of the internal wall behind, which is formed of breeze block. The floor tiles continue under the base of the picture's frame. Chris doesn't believe we can save the frame, but Charmers, the firm we propose to use, think it can be saved in a slimmed down version. Which would better suit its proposed new home in St George's, now the parish church of St George and All Saints.
[Signature]
St George and All Saints
2000464
