Emily Ford’s Font Paintings in All Souls’ Church, Leeds

Information about a campaign

Restoration of the Emily Ford font-panels at All Souls, Blackman Lane, Leeds.

In January 2013, the West Yorkshire Group launched an appeal to raise £6000 to restore the font panels by Emily Ford in All Souls Church, Blackman Lane, Leeds (G G Scott 1880). She donated the panels in 1890 and they had not been cleaned since then. We reached our target within 5 months and the restoration has now been completed by David Everingham Associates. The amazing transformation can be seen in attached photographs. The church has recently been added to English Heritage’s ‘vulnerable’ list and the latest QI has revealed that it requires £250,000 of remedial work. However, the success of our appeal has encouraged the church to apply for an HLF grant to undertake the other restoration work needed on the baptistery, including the restoration of the soaring font canopy by RJ Johnson of Newcastle which was presented by Emily Ford. The appeal has also served to raise her profile and the two panels she painted for the Great War memorial in St Mary’s, Greasborough are included in Church Care’s 100 Church Treasures appeal.

Photographs of the restoration can be seen here.