Cliveden Conservation is holding a series of interactive conservation workshops as part of WREN300, the commemoration of the tercentenary of Sir Christopher Wren’s death by the 51 churches in the Square Mile of the City of London rebuilt in Portland limestone to Wren’s scheme after the Great Fire of 1666.
The first workshop is on 12 April and focuses on stone conservation. It is 10-11am and 1-3pm in St Bride’s Church in Fleet Street, London EC4Y 8AU.
It will show how Wren’s finest stone architecture and carvings are being preserved.
This is conservation in action. You will be able to see the Cliveden experts using the superheated water and laser products of, respectively, Restorative Techniques and Terra Measurements as they carry out stone cleaning at St Bride’s.
Members of the public, students, conservation professionals and anyone else interested in stone heritage is most welcome to attend. The workshops are free but you have to have tickets, which you can book here.
There will be live demonstrations of laser cleaning and the use of Restorative Techniques’ ThermaTech superheated water stone cleaning system at 10am and 2pm, and stonemason Amelia will talk about stone mortar repairs, repointing and material analysis at 1pm.
In the evening (6-9pm), again at St Bride’s, Oliver Caroe, one of the country’s foremost ecclesiastical architects and Surveyor of the Fabric of St Paul’s Cathedral, the most famous of Wren’s architectural masterpieces, discusses conservation of stone in relation to Sir Christopher Wren.
Starting the evening, stonemason extraordinaire Pierre Bidaud of The Stonemasonry Company and engineer Steve Webb from Webb Yates will provide ‘A walk through the New Stone Age’, offering new solutions in stone construction in the context of today’s social and environmental challenges.
To round off the evening there will be demonstrations of the HD3D digital surveys of the churches completed as part of the WREN300 programme, with an opportunity to enjoy a glass of wine with the people behind the current programme of conservation work from Cliveden Conservation, Terra Measurements and Restorative Techniques.
Then on 13 April everyone will be able to have a go at lettercutting, marking in stone and lime pointing at the stonemasonry experience day, 10-11am and 1-4pm at St Bride’s. You will learn about mortar repairs, indent repairs, repointing, mortar and stone analysis.
This is one you might like to bring your youngsters along to so they can have a go at some of the mason’s skills, including lettercutting, although they must be at least 11 years old.
Again it is free but you have to book, which you can do here.
Cliveden Conservation is a recognised IHBC CPD provider.
To book a place on the stone conservation workshops click here.
Would you like to help out?
Volunteers are being sought to help with the setting up and smooth running of the WREN300 workshops being held in April and May. As well as the stone-related events mentioned above, there are also workshops covering the conservation of metal, glass, wood, and plaster/paint.
For a job description and to apply, click here.