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Lord’s Prayer board’s fall from grace forces closure of St John’s Church in Duxford




The ancient St John’s Church in Duxford has had to close temporarily after a 200-year-old board with the Lord’s Prayer fell from its lofty position.

A board with the Lord’s Prayer fell from the wall in St John’s Church in Duxford. It is one of three - the other two show the Ten Commandments and Apostles’ Creed - that were painted in 1812. Picture: Adrian Powter
A board with the Lord’s Prayer fell from the wall in St John’s Church in Duxford. It is one of three - the other two show the Ten Commandments and Apostles’ Creed - that were painted in 1812. Picture: Adrian Powter

Adrian Powter, volunteer custodian on behalf of the Church Conservation Trust (CCT), made the discovery when he went to lock up the church for the night.

He said: “The board that fell was The Lord’s Prayer. It and the other two boards - the Ten Commandments and Apostles’ Creed - were painted in 1812. Sadly, the frame had succumbed to woodworm and the onset of time and the board toppled to the ground. It split into its component boards and the frame shattered with the impact.”

A board with the Lord’s Prayer fell from the wall in St John’s Church in Duxford and split into its component boards. Picture: Adrian Powter
A board with the Lord’s Prayer fell from the wall in St John’s Church in Duxford and split into its component boards. Picture: Adrian Powter

He said many pieces remained undamaged and have now been collected by Polly Saltmarsh, a Cambridge-based painting restorer and conservator.

The CCT’s maintenance team will assess the remaining two boards and decide if their fixtures are secure. By instruction of Gabriella Misuriello, the trust’s head of conservation, the church will remain closed to the public until this work has been completed.



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