Melbourne Village Voice May 2023

Plea to have church graffiti removed

COUNCIL planners are being asked to agree proposals to remove graffiti from a church so ancient some experts have suggested it could even be the country’s oldest intact domestic dwelling.

Leaders of the Transforming the Trent Valley project have asked South Derbyshire District Council if they can remove large amounts of graffiti from the historic Anchor Church, whose origins go back to the ninth century

The grade II listed series of caves in a peaceful spot bordering the River Trent, between Foremark and Ingleby, has a legendary association with St Hardulph, who it is believed may have lived there

There had been conjecture that the caves may have actually been 18th century follies but a recent survey by the Royal Agricultural University’s Cultural Heritage Institute found they were much more likely to date back 1,200 years

Now Mark Knight, cultural heritage officer for the Transforming the Trent Valley Project, has applied to remove graffiti from the ancient monument, saying the issue seemed to have got worse over the past couple of years

In a statement to council planners, he said: “Anchor Church has long suffered from being defaced by graffiti but this seems to have increased since the end of 2021

“This coincided with the end of outdoor restrictions following the pandemic, but whether there is a direct correlation between the two is conjectural

“The hope is that graffiti damage will return to lower levels in the future

“It is also the hope that the removal of current graffiti ‘tags’ will also remove the incentive for other vandals to overwrite or further damage the monument ”

Project leaders are asking to remove the unwanted paint through the use of low pressure high temperature steam equipment, which they say “has proved its efficacy elsewhere”

A small site trial will be needed to ensure no damage is done by steaming off the graffiti

As well as paying for the removal work, the project team is also planning to introduce an information board outside the building to point out it is precious and that “acts of vandalism are discouraged”

In concluding that Anchor Church is likely to date back to the ninth century, archaeologists used a drone survey and a study to reconstruct the original plan for the rooms, finding that the way the church is constructed closely resembles Saxon architecture

It is thought St Hardulph may have been the deposed King Eardwulf, who is buried at Breedon-on-the-Hill, and has lent his name to the local primary school