Sponsored by
Double celebration at Isle's Old Rectory
EPWORTH's Old Rectory celebrated its new status as a museum with the unveiling of its official accreditation certificate.
Isle MP Ian Cawsey carried out the honours at a special ceremony last Saturday which also marked the official opening of an exhibition room at the historic site.
The Old Rectory was built in 1709 and attracts visitors from all over the world, keen to explore the birthplace of John and Charles Wesley, founders of the Methodist Church.
Jean Watson from York was asked to cut a tape to officially open the exhibition room after she handed over two prints to the museum and she represented all those who had made donations.
However it was not until the 90-year-old arrived at the site that she was asked to perform the tape-cutting ceremony, adding: "I'll be thrilled and delighted to do so."
The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council had granted the Grade One listed building its new status and Mr Cawsey paid tribute to volunteers and staff.
He said: "This represents a huge amount of hard work by a lot of people to get the Old Rectory accredited as a museum.
"I congratulate all involved and look forward to the Old Rectory going on to even bigger and better things in the future."
Meanwhile a Wesley portrait was recently featured on Radio Humberside's version of BBC Radio Four series 'A History of the World in 100 Objects'.
The regional station discussed ten objects from the Humberside area which included the 'portrait' of brothers John and Charles.
It is in fact a micrograph which incorporates text from John Wesley's biography to create an artistic representation of his features.
Rev David Leese, Methodist Minister and a trustee of the Old Rectory, went along to Radio Humberside to talk about the historical item.
He explained: "The micrograph was created by Louis Gluck Rosenthal in Sheffield in 1850 and uses nearly 14,000 words from a biography of John Wesley published in 1831, to create an artistic representation of Wesley based on the John Jackson portrait exhibited in 1827.
"It took three years to create. From a distance the portrait appears artistically to be a conventional drawing and it is only upon close inspection that the lines and shadings can be seen to be created by thousands of words.
"Jackson's portrait creates an imposing profile of Wesley, demonstrating his importance and reputation, over and against his real life diminutive stature."
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Epworth
Friday 18 May 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 8 C to 13 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 8 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North
