The Conservation and Repair of Decorative Terracotta: CPD session from the SPAB

Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings CPD session exploring the issues and techniques involved in the conservation, repair and care of decorative terracotta.

The Portico Project at St Pancras New Church, London won the SPAB’s 2017 John Betjeman Award for conservation work at places of worship. Opened in 1822, this striking Greek Revival church - designed by William and Henry Inwood to serve the growing population of the Duke of Bedford’s estate on the edge of Bloomsbury - has become a landmark on the busy Euston Road. But years of pollution had taken their toll on the church’s exterior stonework and terracotta ornamentation. Working with Pierra Restoration, leadworkers MS Lock & Sons, conservator Sally Strachey and specialist manufacturers Darwen Terracotta, architects Marcus Chantry and Alan Chandler meticulously cleaned and repaired the roof and parapets of the western portico in a project supported by the HLF.

Architect Alan Chandler (Arts Lettres Techniques) will describe how the Portico Project approached the assessment, cleaning, conservation and matching of the decorative terracotta at St Pancras New Church.