[TheGuardian] Desecrated and hidden for centuries, priest's effigy is restored to glory: Medieval statue smashed in reign of Henry VIII was found behind church pipe.
His stone face was smashed in by Henry VIII’s soldiers during the Reformation. His alabaster hands, once clasped in prayer, were cut off and the angels who cradled his head were decapitated. Afterwards, his shattered form lay hidden for centuries behind an old pipe organ, unseen, forgotten and enveloped in dirt.
Now, in a find that conservators have described as “exciting beyond our expectations”, this desecrated effigy – believed to be of a local priest, John de Belton – is being unveiled for the first time in a medieval church in Derbyshire.
The newly discovered monument dates back to 1350, making it the earliest alabaster effigy of a priest that is known to exist in the UK. It also has more medieval paint on it than any other effigy of the era, including significant traces of gold, as well as exotic minerals such as cinnabar and azurite.
“He would have been a very bright, blingy type of statue when he was first made – so far, the conservators have found dark red, bright blue, black and green paint as well as gold,” said Anne Heathcote, the church warden of St Wilfrid’s in Barrow-upon-Trent, who made the discovery. “He is wearing priest’s robes, which have been very finely sculpted by someone who was obviously a master sculptor.”
While serving the parish in 1348, De Belton is thought to have lost his life to the Black Death. “We have two Black Death pits in the churchyard and because it’s a Knights Hospitaller church, we think that the Hospitallers looked after plague victims and buried them. That was part of their job.”
| Not so much hidden as shoved aside... |
Heathcote is one of the few people who ever knew of its existence: “I’ve known it was there forever – since I was three or four years old. My father, grandfather and great grandfather were church wardens before me, and I used to climb behind the church organ as a child. I could see there was a statue of some sort there, but I didn’t take much notice of it – I didn’t know what it was.” 
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