This article is a part of the Eustace collection - aimed at helping others create counter-narratives to threats to our historic environment.
Learn more about Eustace"Art washes away from the soul the dust of
everyday life."
Picasso
The Imposter.
Once again I’m stood in an ancient place amongst people that I regard as friends, and I have imposter syndrome.
I’ve been commissioned by Marta Sledz from Chroma Conservation to photograph Marta and her team conserving a C17th monument at St. Helen’s in Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire.
I feel so guilty because being here doesn’t feel like work. It’s a joy to be in such a special place watching dedicated and talented people take care of something that means so much to the local community.
The Garrard Monument is an exceptional piece of craftsmanship which has suffered the ravages of time.
Photos courtesy of Marta Sledz
It is a memorial to John and Elizabeth Garrard. Below them are depictions of their fourteen children. Those who died whilst their parents were alive are holding skulls.
These monuments are telling, reflecting the privilege and societal norms of their day. Their survival is key, for they provide the yardstick by which we assess our collective journey, measure our progress, and confront contemporary challenges. I am reminded of the words of Lemn Sissay:
Hold me while spirits of the past
& Rivers of blood run through me
All this past feeds this present
And brings the truth into me
As well as the Garrard family, I see another memorial hidden in plain sight. This is also a monument to the artists who made it - from those behind the pattern books that influenced the design, to the artisans that brought about, through their skill and guile, a majestic whole. In spite of their hardship - they created a work of art that lights up our emotions: from the angelic spandrels to the poor little mites in the frieze.
I’ve photographed hundreds of monuments over my career, and the accumulative imbibing of their epithets and styles has impacted me enormously. For me, there’s nothing macabre or sad about them. They reveal generations of people who are actively re-imagining who they are and what they represent. As time moves on, the memorials reveal a constant desire for change through the latest styles, colours and typography.
The Garrard monument tells us of the iconography and fashions of the early C17th - and reminds us of the striking changes that the Northern Renaissance brought about, through the pattern books that were so prevalent.
This and the other church monuments at St. Helen’s, including the building and its churchyard, are part of the local communities history and cohesive identity. Conservation of the monument is helping keep all of this alive.
And then there’s Marta herself, and Ryan and Deb. At times, when I was photographing them, I lowered my lens and forgot my work for a while, in awe at the respect, reverence and devotion they had for the monument; for they know, that it is far greater than the sum of its parts.
These conservators, these minimal interventionists, aren’t simply curators of the paint pot and infill, but also guardians of a rich cultural tapestry that teaches us what it means to be human.
I once believed that we possessed our heritage, only to realise that it possesses us in more ways than we realise. We are but stewards and our legacy will be measured, and our offspring nourished, by the treasures we cherish and the stories we pass on.
Alongside blood banks and seed banks we also have monuments that are memory banks - just as critical to our future and wellbeing.
I made a short film of Marta and Ryan and Deb conserving the Garrard Monument.
If you know of a monument that needs help and conservation, do it now, raise the funds, shout it from the rooftops - as if your life depends upon it, because, far more than we realise, it probably does.
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Andy Marshall
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The photographer behind Eustace
A lifetime of looking closely at place.
About the Digest
Continue the journey through the historic environment.
I am an architectural photographer with a background in the historic environment and a postgraduate diploma in Building Conservation. My thesis explored Genius Loci in architecture and was awarded the Harold Samuel Prize.
I’ve worked in the historic environment for more than 30 years, documenting many significant conservation and regeneration projects across the UK.
The Genius Loci Digest draws on that experience, following my travels through the historic environment and exploring architecture, conservation, history and the stories held within places. Many heritage professionals also use the Digest as part of their continuing professional development.
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Photographs and words by Andy Marshall (unless otherwise stated). Most photographs are taken with Iphone 14 Pro and DJI Mini 3 Pro.
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