'Oh my God, you're my brother': Man in his 70s discovers 6 unknown siblings
After receiving a DNA kit one Christmas from his son-in-law, Hugh McCormick soon discovered that he had six unknown siblings, with whom he shared the same birth parents.
Murals believed to be nearly 400 years old have been discovered at an apartment in northern England following a kitchen renovation.
Luke Budworth, 29, his partner Hazel Mooney, 26, and their dog Leonard had temporarily moved out of the one-bedroom apartment in the cathedral city of York while their new kitchen was being fitted in December.
Then Budworth received a call from the contractors. He told CNN Monday: "In a very casual way they said, 'Did you know there's a painting behind here?'"
By the time Budworth went to take a look, the new kitchen cupboards were on the wall, covering the frieze -- the only evidence of the discovery was a blurry picture taken by the fitters.
Though disappointed, Budworth, a research data analyst at the University of Leeds, suspected that a similar "bit of paneling" on the other side of the open plan living area may be hiding something too.
"It was painted the same as the rest of the wall and I knew it was hollow," he said. "I always thought it was probably just covering some pipes."
His suspicion proved correct. "It was a matching piece," he said.
According to Budworth, both friezes measure about 9 feet by 4 feet -- though they are cut off at the top by the ceiling.
The old city of York is encircled by an ancient wall and Budworth's apartment, which he bought in October 2020, lies within that in Micklegate -- one of the city's main streets. The apartment, which sits above a cafe and a charity book shop, is part of a Grade II listed Georgian building dating back to 1747.
"We thought maybe it was Victorian wallpaper, but it was way, way beyond how old I thought it was initially," said Budworth.
The newly exposed frieze depicts a Biblical scene in which a man in a cage is pulled along by an angel. There is also a man in a white cart who, according to Budworth, "looks like he's riding to the kingdom of heaven."
"Really excited," Budworth contacted Historic England, a public body that looks after the country's historic environment. A representative was then sent to survey the artwork and take some detailed professional photographs.
Historic England gave the couple a high quality, life size replica of the frieze and advised them to cover it up in order to preserve it.
Undertaking some historic detective work, Budworth went online and found that both friezes featured scenes from a 1635 book called "Emblems," written by poet Francis Quarles.
"The wall paintings pre-date the flat itself," said Budworth, explaining that the artwork was carried out on a wall of a building that no longer exists. In other words, the building was constructed around an existing wall.
The paintings are believed to have been created between 1635, when "Emblems" was written, and 1700 when such artwork fell out of fashion, Historic England has advised the couple, according to Budworth.
Though the couple do not have the resources to invest in professional conservation of the exposed frieze, they have been keen to incorporate it in their decor.
Budworth said: "If we could find some sort of funding to help conserve it I would be willing to go to the extent of taking the [kitchen] cupboards off the wall but unfortunately I don't see that happening. The other one though will be preserved as best we can."
Historic England confirmed to CNN that it had visited the property and had now passed on images of the paintings to the Conservation of Wall Painting department at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London.
In a statement to CNN, a spokeswoman for Historic England said: "The discovery of these 17th century murals in a home in Micklegate, York is fascinating. They were first discovered in 1998 then covered over. We have been involved with documenting the murals and supporting the present owner with how best to look after them since they were rediscovered recently.
"They raise various questions about the ages of the buildings in this row of historic homes and the history of Micklegate itself. Finds like this tell us that our historic homes have many secrets and we've been pleased to work with this homeowner on looking after these murals for the future."
Two friezes dating back nearly 400 years were discovered after renovation work at this one-bedroom apartment in York, England. (Luke Budworth)
After receiving a DNA kit one Christmas from his son-in-law, Hugh McCormick soon discovered that he had six unknown siblings, with whom he shared the same birth parents.
Four years on, the controversy over whether airlines owed refunds to passengers after cancelling hundreds of thousands of flights during the pandemic continues to simmer, aggravated by a sluggish, opaque complaints process.
Many foods fall under the category of ultraprocessed foods, depending on their exact ingredients. This type of food has been studied a lot lately, and the results aren’t great.
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
A new study projecting declining rates of cancer cases and deaths in Canada demonstrates the success of prevention and early detection programs, but also highlights areas where more work is needed to save and prolong lives, researchers say.
Brock Boeser had two goals and an assist, and the Vancouver Canucks hung on for a 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 of their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
English, history, entertainment, math and geography: high school trivia teams could be quizzed on any of it when they compete at the Reach for the Top Nationals in Ottawa in June.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.