After some problems due to the weather I'm back in Dartmouth working for
McNeilage Conservation in the wonderful
St. Saviour's Church. The church was built mainly during the 14th Century with many 17th Century additions, including the wooden ceiling we've been working on.
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| St. Saviour's Church. |
Although the date of the decoration on the ceiling is still in discussion what is certain is that an inappropriate and severely darkened varnish is covering it. We're working to remove this varnish and reveal the brightly coloured ceiling underneath.
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| Removing varnish from the ceiling of the transept. |
The colour change is really striking and it's a very satisfying process to gradually remove this varnish which is not only masking the painted surface but also potentially damaging the paint below. In future weeks we will be moving from the transepts and onto the chancel ceiling, a similar painted ceiling, though barrel vaulted and gilded, keep posted for more on that.
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| One of the painted stars during varnish removal. |
Once the varnish has been removed a matt varnish, which will not yellow or brown and has breathable qualities will be applied to protect the painted layer for future decades.
On Friday the final archive post will go up, the second job I was involved in at Tewkesbury last year.
