The unique memorial tiles in All Saints’ Church that mark the deaths at sea of Brightlingsea folk are to be commemorated in song.

The Tiles Along The Wall project is being developed by a group of Brightlingsea residents and volunteers who are creating a musical celebration of the 213 tiles that line the walls of the church.

The stories behind some of the tiles inspired local musicians Carl Simpson and Richard Spalding to compose a 25-song narrative double album. The songs reveal the tiles’ history as a story through the eyes of Mary Anne Day, the mother and wife of the first two people named on tiles, David Day and his son, David, lost in 1872. The songs will also tell how Brightlingsea vicar the Reverend Arthur Pertwee came to create the memorials.

Over the next nine months, songs from the project wll be promoted at various local concerts, one of the first being a Women in Harmony Concert in St James’ Church on July 7.

The album will be launched in spring 2025 and sales of the album will fund a tile and memorial stone for the unmarked grave of nine men who drowned in 1903 making their way back to a yacht moored off Brightlingsea.

The project would like to hear from relatives of the people memorialised in the tiles, anyone who wants further details or has an expression of interest – email [email protected]. Clips from the project can be seen at: https://youtu.be/nZ41jibTpAI?feature=shared