STONE, CERAMIC & TERRAZZO
To retain the character of the floor, we aimed not to ‘over- restore’ the surface but to replace damaged stone with a suitable material. Because Scrabo stone is no longer available, we sourced sandstone from the Scottish borders as an appropriate match.
It was a wonderful sight to see the Central Hall restored to its former glory with the original sandstone floor revealed. We were incredibly proud of this project which has won several conservation awards.
PRESERVING ORIGINAL FLOORING
WITH SENSITIVE CONSERVATION Conservation of historic floors will always require different approaches depending on what we find. Our aim is to always preserve as much of the original material as possible, no matter how fragile that material is.
The limestone floor conservation project at the National Trust’s Mussenden Temple, located in the surroundings of Downhill Demesne near Castlerock in county Londonderry, demonstrates the vulnerability of the stonework and how careful conservation treatment can help safeguard the future of these precious buildings.
The Temple was originally built in 1785 as a summer library and its architecture was inspired by the Temple of Vesta in Tivoli, near Rome. It is now a tourist attraction with many visitors treading on a very thin limestone floor, which sits almost directly over a brick vault below. Movement in the mortar underneath, as well as impact damage, had caused some of the slabs to break and shatter.
Our conservators estimated that 50% of the floor slabs appeared to be original. Our aim was to repair the cracks and stabilise all the surviving slabs and seamlessly blend new replacement stones with the historic floor.
To carry out the repairs, we used traditional materials and mortars with carefully selected sand and Portland stone aggregate to match the original stone. Fractures and fissures were cleaned using a small micro steam cleaner to remove dust and debris, before syringes were used to insert grout and fill the finer cracks. A small number of stones which were deemed unstable and beyond repair were replaced with Portland limestone.
It was a very delicate operation, but we successfully restored the limestone floor of this much treasured heritage building.
LIFTING A PRECIOUS FLOOR TO
NEW HEIGHTS If floors could talk, the precious Romano-British pavement at Dorset Museum would have one of the best stories to tell. The mosaic was first uncovered in 1903 at the Lott and Walne Foundry in Dorchester and later lifted and reinstalled at the museum with the help of Thomas Hardy in 1927. To preserve and safeguard the mosaic for future generations, this precious artefact has once again been lifted from the floor and repositioned on a wall allowing the museum to proceed with their £16.1m redevelopment programme of works. Cliveden Conservation orchestrated the delicate and intense operation of redisplaying the mosaic in its new vertical position.
A combination of archival records, trial drilling and a wealth of knowledge led to a plan for the careful removal of the mosaic from the floor of the museum. Twenty-one sections of the mosaic, each weighing a couple of hundred kilograms, were transported to our workshop for treatment and back again on completion.
In the workshop, our conservators fine-tuned their ‘typical’ treatment by removing 40% of the concrete backing, making the object lighter without upsetting the integrity of the design. The mosaic only required minor repairs and light conservation treatment. The sections of the mosaic were adhered to lightweight aluminium honeycomb backing, and by working with a cladding system, conservators created bespoke frames to support the mosaic. Once back in the museum, a lifting frame allowed us to set each section of mosaic in position, and the cladding system enabled us to make minute adjustments.
The mosaic design, which consists of the head of Neptune, two dolphins and red-finned fish, can now be enjoyed from a different perspective within the museum.
IN SUMMARY Historic houses no longer have the luxury of just a few light footsteps from the gentry, nor do ecclesiastical buildings just serve a small congregation – to earn their keep these buildings must accommodate increasingly more visitors. Therefore, it is vital we continue to train and encourage new generations of skilled craftspeople to maintain and repair historic stonework and tiled floors. Conservation is a key element to creating a sustainable future for our built heritage.
Dorset Museum: Setting out mosaic to take datums for fixing
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