Tessa Hunkin of Mosaic Workshop has just completed an interesting new project for a church in Manchester. When she was first approached by the priest, Father Tim Hopkins , he outlined a brief that would commemorate not just Saint Brigid but also the industrial history of Ancoats. Three designs were submitted, two of which showed the Saint against a backdrop of mines and factories. However, when presented to the Parish, they were rejected in favor of a simpler image that showed the Saint surrounded by lettering in panels that evoked traditional altar pieces. The only buildings featured in the bottom panels were the two old churches that had been, or were in the process of being, demolished. Father Tim explained that the recent history of the area had been bleak and hopeless, with very high levels of unemployment, crime and social deprivation. However, since the Commonwealth Games and the construction of the new Stadium which is now the Manchester City ground, more money is being invested in the area and people are becoming more optimistic about the future. The parish did not, therefore, want to dwell on past history but to present a cheerful and welcoming face to the surrounding community.
 
Once the design was agreed Father Tim revealed that he was hoping it would be completed for February 1st, Saint Brigid’s Day. This is an inconvenient date for exterior mosaic fixing, as the days are short and the weather generally terrible. However Father Tim is used to dealing with far worse problems and refused to be deterred by such minor details. He got some local builders to construct a sort of cupboard out of shuttering ply that would keep off the rain and also keep in the heat provided by a rented gas heater. This meant that Walter Bernadin, our trusted fixer, was able to work efficiently on a cold day at the end of January and that saint Brigid was installed in time for her Saint’s Day.
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