By Charlene Kelly

LINKS BETWEEN Dysart and the Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh are being explored following the discovery of a long-lost mural on the walls of the town’s Kirk.

The nouveau stencil, believed to have been designed by Mackintosh, was painted in 1901 but covered by redecoration over the years.

The design shows the dove of peace and the tree of knowledge with three rings depicting good, evil and eternity. It has marked similarities to the pulpit Mackintosh designed for Queen’s Cross Church in Glasgow.

Records show Mackintosh visited Dysart on October 1, 1901, and claimed expenses for his visit from employers Honeyman & Keppie. A fortnight later the church paid the firm £10 in fees for decorations.

Yesterday a professional conservator began the painstaking task of removing the layers of paint on one panel. The original colours are believed to be pale blue, green and black.

Until recently it was thought all traces of the painting had been obliterated after decades of redecorating with plain cream emulsion.

The Rev Tilly Wilson of Dysart Kirk said the discovery is of national importance.

She added, “I find it quite moving to think a past generation commissioned it to the glory of God and as a visible witness of their faith. They didn’t put it there just as a nice decoration—they asked Mackintosh to represent the tree of knowledge and the dove of peace to express their Christian faith.”

Conservator Alan Ferdinand said, “It’s tremendous to find that the decoration scheme is still in existence after all this time.

“Because the church has a black-and-white photograph of the original stencil it was relatively simple to pinpoint the exact area where it had been done. This is a complex and impressive Mackintosh design and discovery.”

A Dysart Trust spokesman said, “This is a huge bonus for Dysart which will bring in tourists and international recognition.”

Professor Pamela Robertson, chairwoman of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society, said, “This is an extremely important rediscovery. The design is from Mackintosh’s most creative period, in the early 1900s, and was published on the continent.

“It was always thought it had been removed in the1920s. What we need to do now is work out the links between Mackintosh and this small parish in Fife.”

Once work has been completed the 130-year-old kirk will be opening its doors to the public so all can see the mural.

The old church was originally built as St Serf’s United Free Church. It is now a Church of Scotland, following its amalgamation with Dysart’s Barony Church in 1972.