© Michael Southgate
Reprinted from: Saffron Walden Historical Journal No 7 Spring 2004
A 16th-century altarpiece of international importance was restored to its full splendour and returned to the parish church of St. Mary the Virgin, Radwinter in September 2003. The altarpiece, known as a reredos, was carved in oak in Brussels around 1510 and depicts six scenes from the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Whilst no documentary proof survives, it is more than likely that the altarpiece had been made for one of three religious establishments in Maaseyck, now in Belgium, on the River Maas: the convent of Notre Dame de Kinroi, the church of St. Catherine, or the convent of St. Anne. The wood-carving show influences from both the Jan Borman and Van der Weyden schools and would have originally been painted.
There is much to confirm the report that it was stolen by soldiers of Napoleon from Maaseyck in the early 1800s, separated into three sections for easier removal and eventually sold by them to a wood-carver in Brussels. Here it is said to have been kept until sold by his grandson, Francois Malfait, to Julius Ichenhauser, the antique dealer, who had premises in Brussels and elsewhere as well as a Bond Street Art Gallery. Malfait allowed the altarpiece to be exhibited at an International Exhibition in Brussels in 1880 where it was stated to have been the subject of recent restoration. Indeed, during conservation work in 2003 the label Francois Malfait, Sculpteur was discovered, demonstrating that his hand had been at work.
The reredos was described as early as 1909 in Essex in the Twentieth Century as ‘without doubt the most interesting piece of wood carving to be found in the county’. It is one of only five Brussels altarpieces in England, three of which depict the Passion. There is another life of the Virgin, which is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, though this is of different design and only depicts three scenes.
The reredos was bought for Radwinter Church in 1887 by the then rector, the Revd. John Frederick Watkinson Bullock to complete the restoration of the church he had begun with the architect, William Eden Nesfield and was continuing with his successor, Temple Moore. There had been no previous reredos in Radwinter Church and as far as is known there is no record of there ever having been one. The earliest photograph of the church interior, taken before the 1869-70 restoration, shows a simple table as altar, unadorned, below the east window in the chancel. Bullock had long intended to have a reredos and, by an unbelievable chance, details of a reredos to be sold were published in the Building News of 3 June 1887 under the heading, ‘Our Lithographic Illustration – Old Flemish carved altar-piece’. The owner, Mr J. Ichenhauser, invited interested readers to examine the altarpiece with other wood carvings at his premises at 68 Bond Street, London. Apparently Fred Bullock and his architect, Temple Moore must have accepted the invitation because, almost 100 years later, Ichenhauser’s advert was found in the Radwinter church chest.
The sale was held on 20 June that year and by October 1888 the reredos was in position in Radwinter. The rector reported in the November issue of the parish magazine: ‘At present the carvings present a somewhat sombre appearance but it is to be hoped that Mr Temple Moore, who has done so much for the internal decoration of the church, will advise a little gold colour which will lighten it up and make it more in harmony with its surroundings’.
However, what Temple Moore came up with was even more spectacular, adding painted wings or shutters. The original shutters had been removed some time in the past and would have been needed to obscure the reredos during Lent. The wings are themselves now in need of restoration and are the subject of a separate project by the Friends of Radwinter Church.
During a routine inspection in 2002, the reredos was revealed to be suffering from wood-boring infestation and mildew. Its location on an outside wall, partly covering the stained glass window, had contributed to its deterioration, and its positioning, some seven feet above ground level with the altar directly in front of it, made close access impossible.
The reredos was dismantled and taken to the workshops of Plowden and Smith, the Queen’s conservators, where it was cleaned, repaired and waxed. Several hands and fingers and a number of angels wings were found to add to the collection that had been saved at the church and these were replaced. Those figures and columns that had come loose were re-secured. Some interesting items were revealed during the conservation, including a maker’s label belonging to Francois Malfait, Sculpteur and dating from his 1880 restoration.
The reredos has been replaced lower down at Radwinter church and clear of the wall to allow circulation of air at the rear. At the same time the altar has been brought forward to facilitate access to the reredos behind the altar.
The restoration was made possible by a fundraising programme organised by The Friends of Radwinter Church on behalf of the Radwinter PCC and by generous donations from the Society of Antiquaries of London, the Manifold Trust, The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation, Lord Butler’s Trust, Essex Heritage Trust, The Lesley David Trust, The Leche Trust, Garfield Weston Foundation and the Alan Evans Memorial Trust. Without their help an artwork of international significance could have been allowed to deteriorate beyond repair.
Whilst the rector, the Revd. J.F.W. Bullock, clearly realised how appropriate it was for this unique altarpiece to come to his parish church dedicated to the Virgin, he might not have foreseen the pleasure and interest his gift was to give in the years ahead. Now cleaned and restored and in its new position, it is possible for the reredos to be seen more easily by all those who come to the church, whether for worship, for quiet prayer or just to view the church. They may well wonder again at the part played by the Mother of our Lord in the Christian story so vividly portrayed by the craftsmen of 500 years ago.
Note: This article is based on the booklet The Remarkable Radwinter Reredos, available from radwinter.recorder@hotmail.com or Saffron Walden Tourist Office, price £2.50.