Behind the scenes of St Jude's hidden gem

Walter Starmer’s spectacular wall paintings at St Jude-on-the-Hill are undergoing conservation. Polly Westlake explains the process to Leïla Davaud ahead of tomorrow’s Heritage Open Day

Two women in hi-viz restoring a historic painting — Magda Fekete (Cliveden Conservation – left) and Iqra Asim (intern – right)

A church in Hampstead Garden Suburb is welcoming visitors to tomorrow to hear talks on the restoration of its historic artwork.

The talks at St Jude-on-the-Hill will showcase the ongoing project to conserve the church’s wall paintings, created by English artist and muralist Walter Percival Starmer, completed between 1920 and 1929.

The project began in March and is expected to be completed in January 2027. Polly Westlake, senior wall painting conservator at Cliveden Conservation, is part of the team working on the paintings.

She explains: “There are 57 paintings in the nave, plus some extra ones painted by Walter Starmer. Theyare unusual in both their style and technique, very unlike this country’s style. They’re modern with a touch of Italian Renaissance. Colourful and spectacular!”

Despite spending her career working with historic wall paintings, Polly was struck by Starmer’s work. She says: “I was blown away by the quality and scale of these ones.”

She continues: “Work in the nave has largely focused on cleaning the paintings, alongside some stabilisation and repairs to areas where the paint has begun to flake. Fortunately, the paintings are generally in very good condition.”

Polly attributes much of their survival to Walter Starmer’s use of a technique known as spirit fresco. “Rather than painting directly onto the wall, he used a base of wax, resin and oil, creating a particularly durable surface.”

The conservation team spent considerable time investigating the paintings and their materials before carrying out the work, ensuring the process is as thorough as possible.

The project has also provided an opportunity for international collaboration, with the Commonwealth Heritage Forum helping to fund the conservation and supporting two interns from Pakistan who are working alongside the Cliveden Conservation team. Polly says: “They are excellent. They aspire to develop this kind of work in Pakistan when they go back and I really hope they do.”

During the Heritage Open Days event, the conservator will explain the original materials and painting techniques used by Starmer, as well as the specialist methods being used to bring the paintings back close to their original vibrancy.

Large-scale photographs will show visitors the paintings before and after conservation, while examples of specialist materials trialled and used by the team will also be available to examine.Younger visitors will be able to take part in games encouraging them to find images among the paintings, as well as colouring activities inspired by the church’s murals.

For Polly, the project is an opportunity to highlight a remarkable part of the Suburb’s heritage. She says: “St Jude’s is an unusual building with unusual paintings. A hidden gem that should not be missed.”

The Heritage Open Day talks on the conservation of the wall paintings will take place for free at St Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb on Thursday, 17th September from 10am to 3pm.

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