POUNDS means paintings at Stratford’s Guild Hall.
Plans are now in the pipeline to uncover a medieval wall painting hidden for almost 500 years thanks to a fundraiser banking old £1 coins before they went out of circulation.
The Pounds for Panels appeal was launched in the weeks leading up to October 15 when the old coins ceased to be legal tender, and thousands were dropped into the chapel collection box.
With just over £4,000 totted up, one anonymous donor then came forward with an additional £1,000 for the appeal, taking the total over the original £5,000 target.
Volunteer coordinator Pippa Brook said: “The response to our appeal was just fantastic and we can’t thank the community enough for their support
“We saw so many people coming into the chapel to put a coin or two in the box, some of them discovering this very special place for the first time.
“And we were absolutely overwhelmed to receive a very generous £1,000 from one individual, meaning we hit our target.”
The success of the appeal means a previously hidden painting will be uncovered although which painting has yet to be revealed.
The Guild Chapel’s wall paintings are among the finest surviving in all of Europe – one of very few almost complete medieval schemes still in situ.
Applied to the walls in the late 15th century, they were limewashed over less than 70 years later following the Reformation. In Stratford, the Royal Order to deface the paintings was sent to John Shakespeare, father of the playwright, who was the Chamberlain of the Corporation of Stratford at the time.
The Guild Chapel, which dates back to the 13th Century, is open daily, free to all visitors with donations welcomed.
Visit www.guildchapel.org.uk for further details.
