Murals

George Mayer-Marton – The Five Joyful Mysteries of the Virgin’s Rosary, Salford

Listing: Unlisted
Condition: Destroyed
Material Type: Painted - interior
Building Type: Educational
Artist / Designer: George Mayer-Marton
Owners: Unknown
Date: 1954
Address: Former St. Ambrose Barlow RC High School, Shaftesbury Road, Swinton, Manchester M27 5SZ
Local Authority: Salford City Council
County: Greater Manchester
Country: England

Despite a nine-month battle to save the mural,  Mayer-Marton’s ‘The Five Joyful Mysteries of the Virgin’s Rosary’ was lost when the former school building in which it was located was demolished by Salford Council in March 2026.

Regarded as a masterpiece fresco, the mural was the only surviving example of Hungarian emigre artist Mayer-Marton’s work in the ‘true-fresco’ technique of applying paint to wet plaster. It had lain hidden for 30 years behind a plasterboard wall in the entrance foyer of the former St Ambrose Barlow Roman Catholic High School in Swinton, and had been described as akin to ‘discovering Pompeii at a Salford secondary school’. Despite  an initial listing application refusal by Historic England on the basis that the work was not thought to survive intact, specialist conservator surveys had revealed it did indeed survive beneath the paint and plaster and was fully recoverable.  Prior to its loss, C20 Society  had joined Imperial War Museum London, SAVE Britain’s Heritage, Hungarian  diplomats and European art institutions in backing a campaign, led by Mayer-Martin’s great nephew – Nick Braithwaite – to have the mural statutorily listed, but as a listing review request was being lodged against a second listing refusal and despite the Government’s assessment of its historical significance still being live,  the council moved to demolition.