West Front Statue Repair
When carrying out the church's quinquennial inspection in May 2006 the architect and churchwardens noticed that the central statue on the tower's west side had deteriorated somewhat since the last inspection. A few months later, following a particularly hot and dry summer, it was noticed that the figure had decayed rapidly and was possibly in the dangerous situation of crumbling and causing masonry to fall.
A scaffolding tower was immediately erected to protect the public below and to provide a platform for access by the architects and stone masons to determine the extend of the decay. On close inspection it was apparent that the stone on the face of the figure had in fact crumbled to the point where it came away in the mason's hand! Clearly, some preservation work needed to be carried out in order to arrest the erosion of the statue and to stabilize it until major restoration work could be carried out.
Preservation work was carried out in early 2007. The masons Andrew Hebden and Douglas Carpenter from Clivedon Conservation of Bath pinned the parts that had broken away from the main body of the figure, used lime mortar to bond the cracks, and then coated the entire statue in a preserving solution to stem the effects of wind and rain weathering.
From an historical point of view, the statue is thought to be that of the Holy Trinity and dates from the late 15th century. A very full report has been commissioned by the Church's architects, a copy of which is available to borrow from the parish office or via pdf download here (3.2 MB).
At this stage, the emphasis is on preservation rather than restoration or replacement of the central statue. The two flanking figures are of a later date and their condition is good. In order to carry out major restoration work to the Holy Trinity figure, considered discussion and consultation with English Heritage and other interested agencies would be required followed by a faculty from the Diocese. It is also likely to carry a high price tag!
We consider that emergency preservation work, followed by major restoration at some point in the future is the best option to follow. If you have any thoughts and comments, please let us know!