DBR’s specialist conservation team returns St Michael’s Abbey, Farnborough to its former splendour following a deep clean of its 19th Century interiors
St Michael’s Abbey, Farnborough, is an active Benedictine church nestled in the heart of the Hampshire countryside. Opened in 1881, this Gothic-revival landmark, which houses the remains of French Emperor Napoleon III, was in urgent need of a deep conservation clean, following decades of residual build-up from daily monastic duties – and latterly – tourism and events.
The Benedictine Order chose leading conservation contractor, DBR (London) Ltd, to undertake the task of returning the Abbey’s interiors to their former splendour.
Having worked on Westminster Hall and Elizabeth Tower in a similar capacity, DBR’s conservation cleaning team had a well-established reputation for its skill, care and attention to detail, making them a natural choice for a project of such scope and scale.
Reaching each and every corner
The work was undertaken by DBR’s highly skilled team of conservators, who were tasked with deep cleaning the entirety of decorative stone surfaces inside the church, including the nave, transept and chancel, using Remmers Arte Mundit latex paste along with various poulticing and dry and wet cleaning methods.
A substantial amount of dirt, grease and dust had built up over the walls, ceiling, ornate mouldings and sculptural features over many decades. In some cases, these elements were blackened with smoke from the multiple candles, oil lamps and incense, which are ritually burned within the abbey on a daily basis.
The team knew they would have to work as delicately as possible to remove the grime without damaging the fragile masonry and polychrome surfaces beneath. Furthermore, they faced considerable time constraints due to services and weddings, meaning that a hard deadline had to be set. This would test DBR’s ability to balance the highest quality work with a tight delivery schedule.
Particularly, the large, central cupola was in very poor condition. The Bath and Portland Stone from which it is constructed was completely stained. This was caused by sulphates in the stones’ composition mobilising to the surface due to moisture, creating unattractive salt blooms and dark brown blemishes across the pale stones.
A Splendid and Lustrous Outcome
Quickly realising the project would require intensive and extensive work on the Abbey’s interior, the team set to work with a course of latex cleaning to the limestone surfaces and wet cleaning to polychrome surfaces to the Chancel and Transepts.
This process included the application of Remmers Arte Mundit latex paste using natural brushes of various sizes. The liquid latex was applied systematically in sections, for controlled conservation cleaning and to avoid tide lines or staining on completed areas.
As the liquid latex cured, it created a poultice and lifted the staining and debris to the stone’s surface without penetrating it. Once dry, the latex poultice was mechanically removed, cleaning and clearing the surfaces of staining without damaging the historic stone.
For the significantly soiled stonework, a blanket of deionised poultices was used to soak up and extract the oxidised salt stains.
The painted surfaces required a lighter touch and were refreshed using Vulpex detergent and light, natural brushes. Gilding work required the use of V&A Mix, comprising white spirit, water and symperonic non-ionic detergent to restore the original lustre.
Finally, a light cleaning was carried out on the memorials, altars and fonts, which were carefully swabbed due to their fragile marble surfaces & intricate pietra dura panels.
Conservation work to the Nave, Transepts, Crossover and Chancel was completed in May 2022, with DBR being further commissioned to provide conservation cleaning services on the Abbey’s sacristy, with work commencing on site in July.
Furthermore, due to the lack of prior conservation work over the decades of active use at the Abbey, there were areas in need of significant masonry repairs. This was done in unison between the DBR Stonemason and Conservation teams.
DBR’s highly skilled masons crafted repairs and replacement elements for various areas of the church out of Bath and Portland stone. This included around the baseline of the church near pew benches, where detrimental salt damage to the original stone was significant.
Ornamental carvings in the Nave and window surrounds were hand-crafted and installed, and carefully pointed mortar repairs were carried out throughout the interior. This created a uniform appearance to the interior of the Abbey without distracting from the historic nature of the space.
Commenting on the project, Paolo Volpi, DBRs Head Conservator says, “It’s difficult to appreciate the scale of work we had to undertake in such a short space of time. It’s a massive testament to the team’s agility that they were able to achieve exemplary results in only six months.”
Paolo continues, “The interiors are incredibly ornate and delicate, but had certainly seen better days. Using a range of tried and tested techniques and plenty of deftness, lightness of touch and patience, DBR was able to restore St. Michael’s Abbey interiors to its original splendour.”
To find out more about DBR, its work on St. Michael’s Abbey and other services, click here.
