Stone Fragment from Rochester Cathedral
This object belongs to Rochester Cathedral’s Lapidarium. The stone fragment comes from the West Facade c. 1150 that was rebuilt in the twelfth century after a fire.
The client’s brief was to clean the object to remove dust and handling dirt, and consolidate friable areas of stone as necessary to make it safe for the object to be handled.
Challenge: Remove soiling from the stone’s surface without affecting the legibility of historic marks.
Treament:
- A minimal intervention approach was decided upon after the condition of the stone was assessed.
- Dry and wet cleaning to achieve a cohesive appearance without affecting the legibility of historic marks.
- Selective consolidation of friable surfaces, paying attention to areas most likely to be handled.
- Devising future recommendations for handling the object.
