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October 09, 2005
Abbey repairs
Work has started on the repairs to the Abbey Tower, at this stage mainly concentrated on making the roof and drainage from the tower watertight again! Our Campaign to raise the money for the repairs to the stonework is also gathering pace as we have now identified the major projects which need the most urgent attention and will require the most capital investment.
This picture shows some of the erosion of stonework on the West and North faces of the tower. All of this will need to be cut back and then inserts of new stone placed to "reface" it.
One of the many "problems" that need to be addressed in repairing buildings like this is that you cannot use modern "Portland" type cement, as this attacks the old stone and destroys the lime mortar that is already in place. It is also far too "rigid" and can cause further damage to the structure by restricting the buildings ability to "move" and adjust to the seasons. The original builders made their own "lime" mortar on site, something our modern builders cannot do for a variety of reasons, so it has to be brought in as pre-prepared "constituents" which can then be matched and mixed to blend with the original. Naturally that takes time, and time costs.
The eroded stonework has to be cut back, or even cut out - care being taken to ensure that the surrounding stone is not damaged - and then is either "refaced" with new stone inserted over the old, or a new block, cut to fit exactly the old shape, is inserted. Naturally, one does not buy these in the local D-I-Y store, so skilled craftsmen are needed to do this work. It is painstakingly slow and more a work of art than of a builder.
In case you ever wondered how the medieval builders got their materials up the tower - this is a "winch" pulley they left behind!
The more I study this building, the more amazed I am at just how skilled the original Norman and Medieval artisans were. I seriously doubt if any of the buildings we are throwing up in our age will still be here 900 years hence!
Posted by The Gray Monk at October 9, 2005 09:52 AM
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