The work of restoring old buildings can involve dealing with centuries of changes, whether it is the accumulation of grime from the local environment or air pollution, growths of moss and lichen, or even the presence of cement and other materials due to later structural additions.
While this can involve brick, medieval buildings are mostly made of stone, including the 15th century St Michael’s Tower in Gloucester, which had been on Historic England’s at-risk register but is now about to be publicly unveiled after a major restoration job.
The Grade II* listed structure has seen major repairs to its stonework and also its lead roof, with the scaffolding and shroud set to come off ahead of the start of the city’s History Festival on September 7th.
Funded by the city council, the £137,000 project will leave the tower looking pristine, maintaining the one remaining element of a church that was built between 1455 and 1472.
Sand jetting stone can be a very effective way of cleaning old stonework, although in cases such as this, further repair work can be required if the stone has been damaged, for example by old cracks being widened by freeze-thaw as water seeps in. In this instance, stonemasons were involved in repairing old stonework and carving some new ones.
The building is used as a heritage and tourist information centre for the city, meaning it is never likely to be derelict and should not need another major restoration job for a very long time.
Other historic buildings of great value that sometimes need significant restoration work include castles, which can be a lot older than the St Michael’s Tower.
A prime example of this is Newark Castle in Nottinghamshire, which was built just after the Norman Conquest in 1066. Plans have been devised to restore the gatehouse and ramp, but these are now set to be amended to avoid damaging recent archaeological finds.
The ancient bastion has had to undergo repair work on many occasions during its long history, including after being damaged in the English Civil War.