Advice

Recently, the 12th-century alabaster arch to St Mary’s, Tutbury, Staffordshire was cleaned. This church has a monumental west doorway, built in the mid-12th century and richly carved with Romanesque ornament. The doorway comprises six orders or receding arches. The innermost order is formed of thirty blocks of locally-mined alabaster. Each carved with three beak-heads and a human or animal figure. Interestingly, it is the only instance of alabaster used in an exterior arch in the country.

After helpful input from members, SPAB is reviewing its involvement with UCL surface coatings research. We are seeking to ensure traditional finishes are central to the study.

An introduction to our findings, which we will present at the forthcoming STBA/SPAB conference