Don’t be brash with your brass!
When it comes to caring for historic metalwork, less is very often more. Over-zealous cleaning and sometimes (dare-I-say-it) scrubbing, can lead to loss of carved detail in decorative metalwork. This can is undesirable when it comes to commemorative floor-brasses or plates, amongst other things. Inscriptions and dedications can be lost forever, disassociating the object from its […]
Radiant Roundels: working wonders with glass, paint and light
Roundels are small glass wonders which display detailed draughtsmanship and rich subject matter. They use light as the main medium for enriching an interior and are a delight to behold in any setting. Over the years I have been lucky enough to work closely with collections of these artworks and help preserve them for future generations. […]
‘But it’s only a jumble of fragments!’ – Investigating one stained glass panel
Not worthy of attention? Some stained glass panels and whole windows are dismissed because they have no clear subject matter, are a jumbled mess and are difficult to date. In this post I discover that a small, jumbled and confused stained glass panel can tell an important story about its history and interesting science-y facts […]
Conservation cleaning – Frank Green’s riding whip
Imagine the delight of Treasurer’s House staff and volunteers when Frank Green’s riding whip turned up in an antique shop! It was clear that this was Frank’s whip because it had his name and the name Treasurer’s House inscribed in the metalwork. The whip was quickly purchased and is now on display in the house. […]
CCT Chattels project for the North
Cataloguing and describing all artefacts, furnishings and fittings in a historic church is no quick job! Many churches are hundreds of years old and have gathered monuments, donations of books and all kinds of things, from candlesticks to old tablecloths throughout the centuries. Trying to pin point a creator, date of creation or even vague […]
Decorative Wooden Bannister
The staircase at Goddards House was designed by architect Walter Brierly in the Arts and Crafts style. It is wooden and has a highly decorative banister, complete with finials, which, over the one hundred years of use, has accumulated a deep layer of dirt. This grime is the consequence of various hands using the banister […]
Rockingham Vases
Goddards House and Gardens, located on Tadcaster road in York, is a National Trust property which was once home to a famous family of confectioners: the Terrys. The three Rockingham vases date from between 1830-1842 and were manufactured by the internationally renowned company Rockingham Pottery, located in Swinton near Rotherham. In the group there are […]