TWO unique objects which hang in the St Michael’s Church bell tower, and date back almost 400 years, are set to be given a new lease of life.

The restoration project focuses on two large oak screens painted with heraldic shields dating back to the 13th century.

Made possible by money raised by National Lottery players, the church received a total of £7,700 which will enable them to hire specialists to take a detailed look at the screens.

Kerry Kirwan, heritage development officer, said: “These unique screens are not only important for genealogy and heraldry, but also local history and the story of the Norman barony in Cheshire.”

This project provided an opportunity for people in Middlewich to rediscover the Venables family, who were ‘a family of myth, war, intrigue and power based in Kinderton, Middlewich’ according to Kerry.

The Barony of Kinderton ran from the Norman Conquest up to the mid-nineteenth century and these rare survivors were commissioned by the Baron of Kinderton in 1632. Thought to be painted by Randle Holme of Chester supervised by William Dugdale, Norroy King of Arms.

The screens were removed from either the Baron’s or Lady chapels and placed in the Bell tower, where you’ll find them today, in quite poor condition.

Interested residents will also be invited to take part in a series of events including; conservation techniques, developing research, recording and communication skills - contributing to the Conservation Management Plan, which is required before any restoration work on the screens is undertaken.

The conservation specialists discovered that the screens are painted on both sides and were designed to be prominently displayed to everyone in the church.

Kerry adds: “This discovery means that the painting on the reverse is original, with no over-painting, which is very exciting to see. We also found other pieces of the screen, which gives us an idea of how the screens were originally laid out.”

On Thursday, April 12, the Heritage Trust held a celebration event to complete the first part of the project, sharing what has already been learnt with a display at Middlewich Library.

The next heritage trail open day will be on April 21 from 11am until 3pm at St Michael and All Angels Church. Also, the displays at the Library are open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning.

For more information on the collections, go to: middlewich-heritage.org.uk.