Two of Malmesbury’s best-loved slices of history – the barmaid eaten by a tiger and the flying monk – have been committed to canvas and will go on display this month at the Town Hall.

Italian painter Lucia Tripepi, who lives in Malmesbury, was so fascinated by the stories that she decided to interpret them.

Hannah Twynnoy was the first person killed by a tiger in Britain when she was savaged while teasing the beast in the yard of the White Lion pub after a circus rolled into town in 1703.

Ms Tripepi said: “We normally associate Hannah and the tiger with strong, violent images. In my interpretation, I have tried to heal her relationship with the tiger.

“I see Hannah and the tiger as two victims in the same cage, joined by a common destiny. Even though she is a well-known character, I don’t think Hannah has ever been painted before.”

Eilmer, the “flying monk”, broke both legs by leaping from the abbey tower, attached to home-made wings, in 1010.

Ms Tripepi said: “I have endeavoured to represent his sense of trepidation before attempting his flight.

“I wanted to capture his innocent trust in the power of God, who would no doubt support him in the air. It makes him very endearing to me, and similar to an angel in my own imagination.”

She is staging a joint exhibition with artist Paul Lewis, who has exhibited widely around the world and runs painting holidays to Greece, where he lived and painted with Ms Tripepi in the 1980s.

Mr Lewis’s work – some of which can be seen at the Old Stables Coffee Shop in Hullavington – contrasts Greek landscapes with those of the Malmesbury area.

The free exhibition is on at Malmesbury Town Hall from February 9 to 20.