Preservation of Medieval Art

The Preservation of Medieval Castles

by Nicole Petilli

The Preservation of Medieval Art

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Abstract

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Introduction

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Section 1: Background

First it is necessary to distinguish between preservation, conservation, and restoration, because each means a very different future for what is being conserved. Preservation will be defined as trying to keep the object as found without making and changes to correct for previous or future damage. Restoration would be trying to recreate lost elements of the object using what is left behind. Conservation is the keeping the object in a predetermined state via preservation, restoration or both. additionally we need to differentiate between preservation goals and presentation goals since both factor into how an object should be conserved.

Preservation

It is impossible to keep art and architecture from being damaged or corroded entirely but some measures can be taken to reduce the amount of damage they take and extend their lifetime. Historical Palaces does a lot of preservation work to keep their collections in a presentable state. At the Tower of London they have identified different risk factors and have done work to minimize them. The potential dangers are dust, light, pollution, vibrations, and weather.
Dust can cause damage by working its way into materials or by caking onto a material. With more susceptible materials like fabrics, dust can work its way into the fibers and cause damage and weaken the material. It can also sometimes chemically react with the material causing further damage., along with absorbing moisture or pollutants which can also cause damage. additionally it can serve as food for pests which could also then damage the material. with more resistant materials dust can cement on over time which makes it hard to remove without causing damage. Frequently dusting objects can prevent it from cementing on or prevent it from absorbing pollution and moisture and prevent damage. preventing dust from getting on them in the first place woks as well. since most dust indoors comes from people, keeping a distance between them and the object can prevent dust from accumulating.
Light can cause bleaching in more sensitive materials like the ones used for tapestries and paintings. Sunlight is usually the most damaging variety since it covers such a large range of waves and such an extensive variety of ultra violet rays but all light can be damaging. Once a material has been discolored or faded and even weakened due to light exposure it is impossible to repair.Since sunlight is the most damaging variety of light, keeping the objects indoors with limited natural light and low amounts of artificial lighting can limit damage due to light exposure.
Pollution, like dust can work its way into different materials and chemically react with them or cause other damage. Castles and art located in large cities are more at risk for damage due to pollution due to gas emissions from cars and other vehicles. Monitoring the amount of pollution and keeping objects in cases when the levels are high can prevent damage due to pollution.
Vibration can loosen floorboards and windows or cause cracks and damage to structures. Vibration tends to work in small amounts overtime and causes damage through cyclic fatigue. It can be caused by crowds of people walking through an area. Keeping activity in the area low can reduce the amount of vibrations. vibrations should be kept low enough to prevent damage and can be monitored in higher risk areas with sensors.
Harsh weather like rain, wind, snow or frost can increase erosion significantly. Improper conditions such as humidity and temperature can even damage more sensitive items while there indoors. Shielding items outdoors and keeping more sensitive items on a climate controlled display case can prevent damage.
It is near impossible to preserve a building since there is no way of protecting it from either weather or pollution. most of the preservation cases of buildings are when part of the building had been buried and there is an active choice to leave it that way instead of excavating in order to prevent exposing it to the elements. In the case of Wigmore Castle, ferns and other greenery was deliberately left on the walls because the protection the plats were giving was doing more conservative work that the roots were doing damage to the mortar.

Restoration

There is some controversy as to whether restoration is good for historic items or damaging . It depends on the conservative goals and the quality of the restoration. The main issue is maintaining historic integrity. If a restoration is attempted after there is no longer sufficient record or original material is left to understand the builders intent, then it can be done inarticulacy. Patrick Faulkner compared it to a game of telephone where the end result looks kind of similar but may have an entirely different meaning. additionally if a building is restored continuously as the original material erodes, then eventually the entire building will have been replaced and it loses its historic value. In order for a restoration to be quality there is some analysis necessary as to which aspect that need to be preserved. in a more visual or artistic sense is might be OK to replace the material with a more durable variety that looks similar so the look of the building can be conserved. if the structure or building method is important than the materials and building procedure need to be adequately analysed and some loss of visual accuracy over time should be accepted since it is not economically feasible to continuously repair the building such that the original builder's intent is completely conserved. The main issue with restoration is that is is sometimes done in a well meaning manner without fully understanding of what is being restored, which can lead to further damage.

Conservation

Conservation is very relative and what it means for different buildings is determined on a case by case basis. For some buildings this might mean adhering to the original structure and materials essentially freezing the place in time while in others it might mean allowing the building to change and adapt over time. In the case if Wigmore Castle it meant leaving as much as the original structure as possible, even leaving some sections buried and inaccessible such that they do not get damage. conversely in the case of Norton Priory the educational and and human interest in it was prioritized and it sees many changes based on visitor comments. In the same way it is essential to clearly define what is being restored, why and to what extent is necessary for a restoration, It is necessary to understand what aspects of a castle needs conserving. decided this depends on how the historic value of the building weighs against the presentation value. in many cases it is impossible to preserve a building as it was found and still allow for visitors to understand it and travel though it without causing damage. More historically valuable building tend to have national support and can prioritize the buildings safety but some privately owned buildings might depend more on tourism to support maintenance fees. a balance between presentation and preservation needs to be decided.

Section 2: Deliverable

Additional Image

In this section, provide your contribution, creative element, assessment, or observation with regard to your background research. This could be a new derivative work based on previous research, or some parallel to other events. In this section, describe the relationship between your background review and your deliverable; make the connection between the two clear.

Quality of Restorations and Effectiveness of Preservation Efforts

Tower of London

The Tower of London is a much more famous Castle so they do not have to sacrifice as much to get visitors and revenue. It is Preserved by Historical Palaces but they do not get any government funding, as a result many of the room were converted to display cases. There are some rooms that are conserved extremely well such as the Chapel in the white tower and Edward I's bedroom. They are much more protective of the artifacts than most of the rooms, however the mortar is kept well. there was not any graffiti or a large number of plants growing in the walls. They had two restoration projects going on while I visited, both where carefully study to determine how to best preserve the historic value while still allowing visitors to enjoy it. specifically Edward I's bedroom was being repainted using the same kind of paint and method of application and the mortar on the white tower was being repaired. Overall it is one of the better preserved castles.

Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle underwent a lot of remodeling after the medieval time period. there are limited aspects of a medieval interior left (citation here). more to follow after I visit

Ashby de la Zouch

Ashby is a much smaller castle than either the Tower of London or Windsor Castle. It is much better know then Fernham Castle and sees more people there solely to tour it. The initial ruins make it seem like it has been very poorly maintained but the majority of the damage is due to the fact that is was actively blown up after its part in the civil war. There is a lot of graffiti and a moderate amount of plants growing on the mortar. Overall it seems to be poorly maintained but presents itself almost as well and as the Tower of London. I could also be considered a little more authentic since no restoration work has been done.

Farnham Castle

Farnham Castle was the smallest and least known of the castles I visited. Since it doubled as a bishops house it is frequently used for weddings which is were they gain most of their revenue. I was unable to see the section they hold the weddings in since it is only open for viewing on Wednesdays. The Keep was available to explore. They did install signposts to explain aspects of the castle and its history along with some safety rails but most of the keep had been unchanged. there was a large excavation in the center of the keep showing the old tower. I could only find one piece of graffiti and there were few plants growing on the walls. Despite being the smallest castle it seemed to be one of the best maintained without restorations.

Comparing Persevered Castles

This section will include a gallery that shows direct comparisons of the castles that will be put up as soon as I can convince my phone to connect to the laptop.

Gallery Graffiti

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  Graffiti at Ashby Castle

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  This level of graffiti is found all over Ashby Castle

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  This is the one piece of graffiti found at Farnham Castle

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  The only Graffiti at the Tower of London has historical significance and is being preserved

• Windsor Graffiti

  Found at Windsor Castle. No Graffiti was found

Gallery Plants

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  There are a fair number of plants growing on top of the mortar at Ashby Castle

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  as well as some growing on the sides

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  Fernham Castle does not have a large number of plants in most places and where they do exist they're generally small

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  There is a large number in the historic well

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  The only plants found were in unused drainage

Gallery Animals

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  Some animals nesting in the towers at Ashby

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  Some animals nesting in the remains of the tower at Fernham

Conclusion

In this section, provide a summary or recap of your work, as well as potential areas of further inquiry (for yourself, future students, or other researchers).

External Links

To the Historic Royal Palace Site: http://www.hrp.org.uk/conservation/#gs.PB0fyas

Image Gallery

If appropriate, add an image gallery