Salisbury Museum has won an award for its recent repairs and conservation work in association with their Past Forward project, at the Salisbury Civic Society Conservation Awards Scheme 2024.
Named as ‘Conservation Contractor’ on the winning certificate, Cliveden Conservation worked alongside the main contractor, H Mealing & Sons, on the repairs to the stone detailing to the windows and to the plaster in several areas of the building.
The works internally included stabilising plaster from above and below – in the small ‘Abbot’s Chamber.’ This involved crawling under and over some fantastic arched braced roof trusses to gain access to repair the ceiling from behind. The conservation team also cleaned and redecorated several of the historic ceilings, removing layers of distemper which had flooded many of the mouldings. The designs can now be appreciated with crisp detailing.
The works externally began by following the architect’s drawings on the repairs needed, but as the project progressed, Cliveden Conservation was able to identify additional areas where historic repairs had caused more harm than good. All the new stone had to be measured and templated individually, as none of it appeared to be straight or uniform. Cliveden Conservation had first looked at the bay window to the front of the museum ten years ago and were pleased to bring the recommendations from then to fruition.
The project lasted almost a year, through extreme sunshine and heat, heavy rain and even ice and snow. Berenice Humphreys, Senior Projects Manager, Cliveden Conservation, is delighted with the award:
“It was a real pleasure to work on this award-winning project. This was a constantly evolving project, but we really valued the way all parties, especially the main contractors and architects, worked together with us to get to the finish line. The museum building has a fascinating history both in its usage and development over time, and it’s great to have played a part in helping to secure the ongoing and future use of the space.”