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This is an email sent via the SHCG List. If you reply to this message, your message will be sent to all the people on the list, not just the author of this message. --------------- To Fiona: I was very interested to read about Kathryn Timmons' enquiry; although I no longer work in museums (I'm now a Teaching Assistant in a special school/college - rather different!), I have remained a member of SHCG and am always interested to see what's going on in the 'social history world'. When on holiday, my wife and I are usually to be found in France and I spend a lot of time in Roman Catholic churches as a result of my (sometimes all-too consuming!) interest in the mystery of the villlage of Rennes-le-Chateau, the (now famous) hilltop village in the Pyrenees upon which Dan Brown's* The Da Vinci Code* is based. I have been a colleague of Henry Lincoln, principal author of *The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail*, (upon which Dan draws extensively) for over thirty years and my current focus of research is the iconography of the Stations of the Cross in Rennes-le-Chateau church, which are bizarre to say the least! In the course of the last three decades I must have seen dozens of Station sets and while the overwhelming majority have been in France, I have occasionally had to refer to others elsewhere in Europe. Whilst, sadly, the mystery of the villlage of Rennes-le-Chateau does attract a 'lunatic fringe', I am not amongst them. The foundation upon which the mystery of Rennes-le-Chateau is built does not depend upon whether Jesus was married or not, nor indeed whether the *Priory of Sion* exists or not. Equally, to dismiss the whole mystery as a 'hoax' would be a mistake; there is something about that particular location on the face of the earth that is much more profound. It is 'demonstrable and provable', as Henry would say, but at the moment it is not fully understood. The Stations of the Cross in Sileby are certainly very beautiful and I have all of its fourteen Stations logged in my archive. I think these are indeed late nineteenth century, but as you'll have gathered, the manufacturers are often very difficult to identify. I also think these might well be Italian, as Kathryn suggests; I have checked Nikolaus Pevsner's *Guide to Buildings in Leicestershire and Rutland*, but sadly St Gregory's church does not get a mention therein. However, I do know of an Italian icon manufacturer, established in 1872 and still in business, to whom I propose to send some of the Sileby Station images to see whether this company might be able to confirm them as their own (if they have kept catalogues) or indeed suggest alternative manufacturers. Interestingly enough, this company is based not too far away from where the Rosmini headquartes were established in Italy during the nineteenth century, so this might augur well... I'll let you know how I get on! With kind regards and best wishes Jim Garretts. On 6 March 2015 at 07:56, Fiona Ure <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > This is an email sent via the SHCG List. If you reply to this message, > your message will be sent to all the people on the list, not just the > author of this message. > --------------- > > > Dear All, > > A query from a member of the public which I am completely unable to help > with. > > Does anyone out there have any expertise on Church art? > > Fiona Ure > Local Heritage Officer > Leicestershire County Council > Charnwood Museum > Queens Park > Granby Street > Loughborough > Leicestershire > LE11 3DU > tel. 01163057424 > general museum number 01509 233754 > > > I would be very grateful for some help in finding some information about > the Stations of the Cross in St Gregory's Catholic Church Sileby. > > I have attached one photograph . The stations measure 94cm H and 53cm > wide. I have other photographs including some of one station which is > partly dismantled : partly to repair it and partly to try and find some > clues about the makers. There were no visible signs of a maker . The church > was opened in 1874 by the Rosminians from Ratcliffe College , so there were > Italian connections. We have not been able to find any bills or records > relating to the Stations. We know they were already there in 1939 , one of > our parishioners came to Sileby as an evacuee at the beginning of the war > and remembers seeing them. We are just interested to know the story . The > church is a very simple brick built church with very little decoration. > These are the only really decorative items we have, the church is being > redecorated just now ,which is what has provoked the query, > > I am very happy to do anything which might be helpful in solving this > puzzle, > > With thanks and all good wishes, > > Kathryn Timmons > > > > > _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ > This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential. 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