“The recovery of Wolsey’s angels is one of those miracles that historians pray for; something that seems irrevocably lost has been there all the time. To claim the angels for the nation would connect us to one of the liveliest eras of our history and one of its most remarkable men.” – Hilary Mantel
Paul Jesson, who is currently playing Cardinal Wolsey in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s critically acclaimed productions of Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies at the Aldwych Theatre, came along to join us with the Angels in our Medieval and Renaissance Gallery today, to help launch our campaign to reunite them and give them a permanent home here at the V&A.
We are really excited to announce two significant funding pledges towards our Save the Wolsey Angels campaign. The National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) has granted us £2million towards the campaign and the Art Fund has pledged £500,000, which means we are now over half way to the total £5 million needed to save the Angels.
The Angels were originally designed and intended for Wolsey’s tomb, but during a tumultuous period were seized by Henry VIII, sold during the Civil War, separated and eventually lost. We now finally have a chance to unite the angels and give them a permanent home, but we still need your help. We are now over half way there but there’s a long way to go yet – help save the Wolsey Angels.
Read more about the campaign here.
Donate online and Save the Wolsey Angels here.
Text VAWA14 £5 to 70070
The V&A will receive 100% of your text donation. The minimum text donation is GBP £1 and all donations must be in whole pounds sterling. The maximum text donation allowed is GBP £10 for all mobile operators. Donations sent via text will incur your standard text message fee. Please refer to your tariff for details. Should fundraising exceed the appeal target, or if the Museum is unsuccessful in securing the angels, funds will be used to further the objectives of the V&A.