We are delighted to report that donations to cover the entire cost of restoring and conserving the frieze painted by Sylvia Lawrence in No. 3, have now been received. This was Penelope Lawrence’s drawing room, so it is particularly special. “Night” shows two female figures, one resting her head on the other’s shoulder, draped in swirls of cloth, swept by the wind, painted in grey and blue tones. This is a painting directly onto the plaster. The restoration work will be carried out on site during February half term 2023.

Since we launched the Appeal at the beginning of September, ORs have been very generous – thank you so much to those who have donated so far – we now only need to raise a further £1,850 out of the total cost of £11,600, before we have sufficient funds to place the contract for our next project, the Sundial/Astrolabe. With the School’s Planning consultants, we have already started the application process for Listed Building Consent to restore the Sundial/Astrolabe. Elevation drawings and a Heritage Statement are being prepared – the latter using much of the material prepared by the ORA in our detailed brochure on the project which can be downloaded here: https://community.roedean.co.uk/resources/ora-resources/16/ora-heritage-projects-sundial.

Please do help us to reach our target for the Sundial/Astrolabe so that we can start work on the conservation and restoration of this iconic feature on the Front Terrace. If you are able, any donation, however small, would be really welcome and appreciated. You can donate here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/oraheritage-projects.

The next project that we would like to progress is the Sylvia Lawrence frieze in No.1. “Morning” is a beautiful pink, gold and grey portrayal of a host of trumpet playing angels welcoming in the sunrise, portrayed with streaks of gold across a morning sky and pink tinges to the cheeks of the angels. It is painted on paper attached to textile which is in turn glued to the plaster wall. The paper is now very fragile, with splitting, cracking and losses to the paint. The lime plaster behind the frieze is crumbling and past repairs with heavy adhesive have pulled the plaster off the wall.

Listed Building Consent is needed for this project as the conservation/restoration work using paper and wall painting conservators must be done off site. The Target for this project is £8,200.

We would also like to progress the conservation of the ensigns. £15,000 will enable us to conserve one of the Battle of Jutland ensigns and will also go a long way towards the conservation of the HMS Vernon ensign flown on D Day at the school.

While researching the ensigns we have been delighted to find another Battle of Jutland ensign now displayed in the wardroom at HMS Collingwood. There were four ensigns flown on the ship during the battle. There is also a royal connection, Prince Albert, later to be George VI was a midshipman on HMS Collingwood at the Battle of Jutland and he was also aboard the ship when the girls from Roedean visited the Fleet in 1914,mentioning the visit in his diaries which are stored in the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle. More about this in a future Heritage Projects update!

The detailed brochure on the Ensigns can be downloaded here: https://community.roedean.co.uk/resources/oraresources/
13/ora-heritage-projects-ensigns.

The Appeal Brochure can be downloaded here: https://community.roedean.co.uk/resources/ora-resources/11/ora-heritage-projects-brochure-2022.

Detailed brochures about each of the ORA Heritage Projects can be downloaded here: https://community.roedean.co.uk/resources/panel/227/ORAResources.

Or email: heritage@oldroedeanians.co.uk.

Thank you so much for your support!