Two historic paintings which have been restored after a two-year project have been unveiled.
‘The Tournament’ and ‘The Riding of the Marches,’ painted in 1839/40 by Thomas Cranmer were unveiled in the Tolbooth Courtroom where both have been in situ for 185 years since just after the building was opened.
Alex Ross, a volunteer with the Forres Heritage Trust led on the project and helped to raise the £25,000 needed to restore both landscapes.
Speaking at the event which was attended by 45 people, Alex said: “Two years ago, the team of volunteers known as The Friday Gang, were coming to the end of renovating the courtroom where the paintings are hung. Lots of work had been done to spruce up the room. However, when we stood back and then turned our attention to these paintings, we realised just how grubby they were. I decided that I would take the lead and do something to get them restored.”
Alex added: “Although I took the lead, this project has had many people involved. The Friday Gang who volunteer at the Tolbooth every week, were crucial to safely getting the paintings down off the wall and packaged for transporting to the restorers. They then had the even more crucial job of getting them rehung. The care and attention they took when doing this needs to be noted.”
The Riding of the Marches shows Forres Town Council on October 1, 1840, ceremonially checking the town’s boundaries on Califer Hill.
The Tournament depicts a scene in Sir Thomas Dick Lauder’s book ‘The Wolf of Badenoch’ during the reign of Robert II (1371 – 1390). King Robert’s son-in-law, the Earl of Moray, held a tourney at St John’s Mead on the banks of the River Findhorn close to Darnaway Castle, home to this day of John Stuart, 21st Earl of Moray.
Speaking of the end result, Alex said: “I am absolutely thrilled with the final result and it was a great moment to be able to unveil them and see the reaction from those who came along to the event.
“The results are outstanding! There are so many more subtle details that are visible now including facial expressions that were lost behind layers of varnish and nicotine.
“There were a total of nine months-worth of painstaking work, cleaning every inch of the paintings with cotton swabs and cleaning solution, repairing surface cracks, retouching paintwork and refurbishing the frame. A replacement stretcher was fitted to the rear of one painting to tighten up the front canvas which was sagging. The old stretcher was riddled with woodworm.
“The paintings are of immense historic value and local interest. Every single person that was invited to the unveiling had some input in the restoration and I thank them all for their support.”
He added: “Major funding donors were the Pilgrim Trust, the Forres Ward Fund, the residents of Moravia Court and many generous townspeople.”
The Tolbooth was community asset transferred from Moray Council to FHT in 2014.
“We are the custodians of the contents,” explained Alex, “therefore we have a responsibility to preserve all of the fabric and contents for the benefit of future generations.”
The Tournament was restored by Sylvia Krauss ACR at Templeton Studios, Glasgow. Riding of the Marches was revived by Egan, Matthes & Rose ACR, Douglas Court, Dundee.