The Rediscovery of The Wall Paintings
Most of the paintings were rediscovered in 1804 when much of the whitewash was scraped off the walls during a programme of repair and restoration. Whilst the paintings were still visible Thomas Fisher a local draughtsman and antiquarian made careful drawings of the uncovered paintings which included all but the Dance of Death and the Lyfe of Adam. Fisher's drawings and illustrations were compiled into the first volume of what he aimed would be a much larger project but owing to copyright issues he was forced to abandon his project. The drawings and illustrations were subsequently published in a large folio in 1838 (Nicholls J G 1838/SBTRO 83406786), two years after Fisher's death. After the wall paintings had been recorded by Fisher those in the nave were whitewashed over and those in the chancel permanently destroyed.
The wall paintings not discovered and recorded by Fisher came to light in the 20th century. The painting of 'Doom' was removed of its whitewash in 1928 and more building work uncovered the Dance of Death and fragments of the paintings on the south wall thought to originate from The Lyfe of Adam. During the building work the 19th century woodwork in the nave was removed and Wilfred Puddephat the art master at King Edward VI Grammar School recorded, photographed and painted the images- publishing his findings in Birmingham Archaeological Society Transactions, 76 (1960), 29. Puddephat also re-recorded the other wall paintings in the nave.
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