St John the Baptist Church, Kinlet (Grade I) 2011

Acting as Principal Contractor, Recclesia Ltd successfully completed a highly complex and much celebrated scheme of conservation work to both the masonry and the medieval stained glass of the Chancel at one of Shropshire's most outstanding church buildings.

The principal area of work was carried out to the East window, which is of C13 origin. The masonry had suffered significant failure throughout, with several sections having delaminated and fallen to the ground. The mullions had cracked vertically, the cill had split horizontally and stress fractures and localised delamination could be seen all over the tracery. To make matters worse, the entire window had been patched and pointed up in an extraordinarily hard cement mortar which had exacerbated and accelerated the decay of the stonework

The stained glass is by Evans of Shrewsbury, but incorporates a large amount of medieval stained glass retained from the original East window. It too had been fixed in place with the same extremely hard mortar and much of the glass groove in the masonry had been crudely hacked away, presumably when the window had been changed by Evans. The glass was suffering from a whole prethora of problems and presented a very complex set of conservation issues. Not only had the stained glass suffered from the usual movement and bellying, the glass itself was severely corroded or rotten.

Glass rot is an irreversible deterioration of the glass surface, usually presenting itself initially as small pits which collect air and water-bourne detritus. Over time, the pits increase in number and join together, destroying the glass surface completely and hugely reducing the amount of light which can get through the glass. There is no solution to the problem, but progress of the rot can be slowed down if not halted by the application of the correct conservation studio treatments.

Following extensive protection work to the highly decorative church building, scaffolding was erected inside and out and work began on the removal of the stained glass. This was a long, arduous task requiring precision and use of dentistry tools in order to remove the glass from the hard mortar and failing masonry without damaging either the stonework or the glass itself. It is on projects like this that our team's many years of experience in working with both stained glass and masonry together really come into play. All of the glass was removed without incident and without damage to the masonry, leaving the client, the architect and English Heritage very impressed.

The glass was transported to the Recclesia studio and underwent extensive treatment. The entire window was stripped down and each section of glass was very carefully cleaned using only cotton wool and de-ionised water. The pits in the less corroded glass were cleaned of collected detritus. Several sections of glass were also suffering from paint loss. These were stabilised and reinstated into the window using a localised isothermal glazing technique following the re-leading of the panels.

Meanwhile, the masonry underwent extensive conservation and repair work. The approach taken involved the rescue of as much of the original fabric as possible and practical. In some areas, the masonry had failed so badly and was categorised as "time expired" meaning that it had to be replaced using new stone, which was carefully selected for colour, strength, porosity and weathering characteristics that were compatible with the existing stone which was from a now exhausted quarry at near-by Highley.

Delamination of the masonry was remedied by way of pinning using tiny stainless steel pins and the weathering detail was reinstated using a highly specialist and purpose made stone and lime compoud. New sections of stone were indented into the existing, including two new mullions and cill to full depth. Tracery sections were replaced back to glass groove and the entire window was repointed using an hydraulic lime mix and local sand.

The glass was reinstated into the conserved masonry and a new cross added to the East gable apex on completion. The work has been widely praised by the client, the parish, the architect and English Heritage.

This project was grant-funded by English Heritage.

Holy Trinity Church, Lydham (Grade II) 2011

Having suffered significant structural movement and being on the verge of collapse, Recclesia was awarded the contract to replace the East window entirely in new masonry, whilst also being tasked with the highly delicate task of removing the stained glass from the crumbling masonry.

Following a process of recording and templating the existing East window, work began with the removal of the stained glass. This was no easy task, as the tracery window was quite literally on the point of collapse. The entire gable end had leaned East and twisted North, meaning that the glass was being crushed by both the failing masonry and the structural movement. For safety, the entire gable was shored and propped to an engineer's detail.

Nothing was known about the stained glass, so once it was back at the studio the conservators carried out research to establish the maker. It was discovered that the window was by Bryans, a student of CE Kempe, and that there was a discreet maker's mark that had gone unnoticed for years. The window had been vandalised in the past and several sections of the crucifixion scene had to be carefully put back together piece by piece using advanced edge-bonding techniques. The window was also fully releaded.

Whilst the glass underwent studio treatment, the time expired tracery window was removed from the gable end. Recclesia produced 1:1 CAD workshop drawings and templates of the old window for production of a new window to match the existing. Each section was carved out of stone from Woodkirk quarries in Leeds, which offered a very similar stone to that which the original window had been made out of. The installation of the new masonry window was followed by the reinstatement of the glass.

The contract also included the conservation and repair of the West window glass and masonry, repairs to copings, repointing, leadwork and internal limewashing.

This project was grant-funded by English Heritage.

St Nicholas Church, Henley on Thames (Grade I) 2011

Recclesia were awarded the contract to remove and carry our studio based remedial work to seven stained glass windows at this Oxfordshire Church on the banks of the Thames.

The works to the windows was followed by the fabrication and installation of our approved protective guards to all sixteen windows of the church.

St Mary's Church, Benllech, Anglesey 2011

Recclesia successfully completed a scheme of masonry and leaded light repairs to windows. All the windows of the church were removed for studio-based releading work and replacement of metal casements. A programme of masonry repair and replacement was undertaken at the same time.

St Margaret's Church, Bodelwyddan, Denbighshire (Grade I) 2011

Recclesia undertook a scheme of works at this very well known church, known as the Marble Church. Works included the fabrication and installation of new lead rainwater pipes, repairs to valley gutters, masonry repairs and replacement of polycarbonate window protection,

St Mary's Church Eardisland, Herefordshire (Grade II*) 2011

St. Mary's Church in Eardisland, Herefordshire, is noted as being one of the most outstanding buildings in the county and is Grade I listed, being of national significance. There is certainly no questioning the antiquity of the building. The Nave was built in the 1100s and the Tower and Chancel followed in the 1300s. The Tower collapsed in 1728 and the one that stands on the site today was rebuilt in 1760. An extensive restoration of the church was undertaken in 1864 under Henry Curzon, an architect out of London, costing some £2,000 (£86,000 by today's standards).

Following identification of severe weathering and delamination of the masonry to the East Window by conservation architect Lesley Lloyd of Tenbury Wells, Recclesia were awarded the contract to carry out the conservation and restoration work to the stonework, the stained glass window and the wrought iron ferramenta. All of the work was carried out in-house by Recclesia, including the restoration of the 1901 Burlisson and Grylls stained glass window and ferramenta at the glass studio and metal workshop in Chester. The window incorporates a piece of medieval glass which was reused by the maker in this window and provided the basis for some of the design work. The window is a stunning example of this makers work.

Before any work was carried out to the window, Recclesia were first commissioned to thoroughly investigate the condition of the stained glass and produce a report detailing the issues and the proposed remedial conservation work. The report was produced to ensure that informed decisions were made about the approach to the treatment of the window and that all parties involved in the project, including the client, the Church Commissioners and the DAC were satisfied with the proposals. The report followed the guidelines set out by the Church Building Council for conservation reports and encompassed everything from the history of the window, the context of its history in relation to the church building, a detailed assessment of its condition, conservation proposal, recording processes and conservation techniques following CVMA guidelines.

Following acceptance of the report, the entire window, including the ferramenta, was carefully removed back to the studio by Recclesia’s stained glass specialists. The window had been previously pointed into the stonework using extraordinarily hard cement mortar which had caused quite significant damage to the external face of the masonry, meaning that its removal had to be carried out very carefully to ensure that the stonework was not unduly damaged again. The craftsmen and women at the glass studio began the conservation treatments, repairs and gentle cleaning whilst the second phase of site-work began to address the problems with the masonry.

The approach taken was one of minimum intervention, meaning that the emphasis was on the retention of as much of the old masonry as possible whilst employing several different techniques to ensure that all of the problems were properly addressed. From the scaffolding, a detailed inspection was made by Recclesia and Lesley Lloyd during which a thorough schedule of repairs was drawn up detailing the way in which each section would be repaired. Inevitably, some elements of the masonry were candidates for replacement, but this was done in small sections rather than replacing the entire stones. The type of stone selected for the new sections of tracery was the Mottled Hollington from Staffordshire Stone which was similar in consistency, porosity, appearance and weathering characteristics to the original stone used. Recclesia masons carefully propped and cut out the irreparable sections of tracery and inserted new replacement sections to varying depths.

Other sections, although eroded, were considered to be in fair enough condition to keep rather than replace. These were repaired involving a very delicate pinning technique to hold the masonry together, particularly in areas where small-scale delamination had begun to present itself. Small indent repairs were also carried out in some places, and the weather-shedding details of the masonry cusps re-formed using a lime mix made up by Limegreen Ltd based on their analysis of the masonry and the original pointing mix.

With the masonry work complete, it was time for the stained glass to be brought back and reinstated into its more stable home. The ferramenta was tipped in stainless steel at the intersection with the masonry to ensure that any future corrosion and expansion would not damage the stonework and were painted in black using a modern three-coat paint system. The metalwork was reinstated into the original holes in the masonry using lime mortar and the stained glass offered back up to it. The glass was pointed into the masonry again using lime mortar and kept under its shrouding throughout the week-long installation to allow for a grand reveal at the end!

Serena Askew of the PCC was extremely impressed with Recclesia’s work. “We are delighted with the way it has all gone, and I think a lot of people enjoyed watching the process. We would like to say thank you to all your staff for their work - it was a pleasure having them around.” Conservation architect Lesley Lloyd was also pleased with the finished conservation project saying, “this was a challenging project, made more so by the fact that poor previous repair work had been done in the past and covered up – but the work went well and the PCC were very pleased with Recclesia”.

St George's Church, Milson, Worcestershire (Grade II*) 2011

Recclesia carried out a full scheme of lime repointing, masonry repairs and structural stitching, followed by extensive repairs and timber conservation to the South Porch which was carefully dismantled piece by piece, recorded, repaired and rebuilt and returned to a structurally stable state.

St Mary the Virgin Church, Cleobury Mortimer (Grade I) 2011

This phase of restoration work involved extensive works to the St Nicholas Chapel, including masonry conservation, structural repairs and the restoration of the Clutterbuck window of the West end. The masonry work to the porch, which involved restoring the hood moulding, voussoirs and carved character heads to the entrance, has been used as a case study by English Heritage demonstrating outstanding workmanship.

St Helen's Church, Penisar'waun, Caernarfon 2010

Recclesia carried out a full scheme of lime repointing, masonry repairs, replacement cast iron rainwater goods, repairs to bell tower, roofing works, restoration of traditional leaded lights and installation of protective guards to this charming Victorian chuch in North Wales.

St Cyngar's Church, Llangefni 2010

Recclesia undertook conservation repairs to the cast iron windows of the Nave and the restoration of leaded light glazing and installation of protective guards.

St John's Church, Hope Bagot, Worcestershire (Grade I)

One of the prettiest churches we have worked on, St John's lies in the heart of South Shropshire. The church is of Norman origin and lies in a protected wild flower meadow.

The work involved re-roofing the tower in cedar shingles, re-roofing the nave and chancel in clay tile, lime rendering and limewashing the chancel, re-pointing the tower and installing new cast rainwater goods and storm water drainage system.

This project was grant-funded by English Heritage.

Church of the Holy Innocents, Highnam, Gloucester (Grade I) 2009

Described as the most complete Victorian church in the country by Sir John Betjeman, this 1851 church is one of the few in the UK to be so extensively covered in fresco wall paintings. After losing his wife and children at a very young age, the builder of the church dedicated his life to painting every inch of the internal elevations.

The work here was confined to the external fabric of the church, repointing the south elevation in carefully selected lime mortar, taking up and relaying the sunken floor to the porch, masonry repairs, replacement cast rainwater goods and roofing repairs. We worked here through some of the worst weather we have ever known but the completed project was a success.

This project was grant-funded by English Heritage.

2009 RIBA Conservation Sector Reviewed

St Peter & St Pauls Church, Rock, Worcestershire (Grade I) 2009

This is the largest Norman Parish Church in Worcestershire and has some of the finest examples of Northern Architecture in the West Midlands. The main body of the Church, including the very fine Norman Chancel Arch, was built around 1160 with further addition in the 15th and 16th centuries.

This phase of work focused upon the Great West Window which was suffering from extensive structural failure. A large steel supporting beam was needled into place above the window before careful conservation pinning work began to the tracery masonry. The leaded lights were restored in-house using mouth-blown glass and some new masonry elements were used to replace lost sections.

This project was grant-funded by English Heritage.