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Heritage tiling provides excellent work in restoring tiled floors

The Revd Sid Mourant B.D.
St Thomas's Vicarage
(The United Benefice of All Saints & St Thomas)
Marathon Avenue
DOUGLAS IM2 4JA

Ref: The Restoration of the Mosaics in the parish Church of St Thomas, Douglas, Diocese of Sodor and Man (Isle of Man) by Mr Steve Sinnott of The Heritage Tiling and Restoration Co., Seaforth, Liverpool.

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

In the Chancel of the Church are some very fine mosaics dating back to about 1930. These depict a full size mosaic of St Thomas holding the Church in his arms. Above him is a circular mosaic of the motif of St Thomas - the Set Square and Spear; in the lower one is another circular mosaic of an Arab Sailing Boat set upon the seas. To the right and left of the upper motif in the same size circles are the Alpha and Omega. The Mosaics are composed of tiny pieces of Venetian Glass. These mosaics are set in Italian Marble which continues in the aisles of the Church.

Over the years the Mosaics had been badly damaged, especially the figure of St Thomas, where the face had been completely destroyed. In various parts of the Church the marble had been damaged also having been chipped, and had lost its sheen.
The Heritage Tiling and Restoration Co. were contracted to carry out the work of restoration of the mosaics. The nature of the work required great patience, as well as some artistic ability in restoring the face of St Thomas, for which no photographs had ever been preserved. This work was conscientiously carried out by Mr Steve Sinnott of the company. The result was a remarkable transformation of the Chancel of the Church as he went beyond the terms of the contract in restoring the marble in the Chancel, and cleaning the Mosaic of Grape Vines and Sheaves of Wheat around the Altar. A considerable amount of the chipped marble was also repaired in the Aisles.

The work was thorough and to a very high standard of excellence. Cleanliness and care were the hallmarks of all that was done. There was never any need to follow up and tidy anything at the end of each day. There was never any sign of irreverence for the Church which was in all respects considered as a place of worship.

Although working to an agreed contract Mr Sinnott saw his work as much more than that. He saw it as a labour of love for God's House, and this pervaded all his qualities of workmanship. Added to this he freely gave advice for the cleaning and preserving of the mosaics and marble.

We would have no hesitation in recommending him to others - he is a highly skilled craftsman devoted to a high degree of excellence in his work - and we would gladly employ his services again in the future. In fact we are intending to do this in the near future.