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This article first appeared in Conservation News 77. Visit to St Paul's Cathedral and St Michael's CornhillSuzie Wright, the conservator at St Paul's personally conducted our tour and added enormous value to the experience with her erudite commentary. This visit of the Furniture & Wood Section began most appropriately under the great dome of the cathedral with an introduction to the history of the internal decorative scheme and an explanation of the cleaning and conservation strategy which was established following the 1993 survey and is part of the subsequent 25 year plan. We moved on to the magnificent Quire where the stalls made from Baltic Oak and adorned with Grinling Gibbons's exquisite naturalistic carvings in lime-wood promoted much discussion, especially with regard to the untoned finish of the restorations and the previous regime of cleaning the carvings with domestic washing-up liquid and a brush! Onwards and upwards, climbing 90 spiral steps to the library passing racks of excavated architectural stonework from the pre-fire Cathedral. The library has approximately 23,000 bibliographical works of an extremely diverse nature, it was formed partly from bequests and steady acquisitions over a long period and is intended to provide a resource for the resident clergy when developing sermons and theological argument. The elaborately carved bookcases and balcony brackets were carved by Jonathan Maine a contemporary contractor of Gibbons at St Paul's. Conservation policy in the library consists mainly of environmental control and holding measures pending funding for practical conservation. A full inventory of the library and objects was the current all absorbing project. Our party squeezed their way through service corridors to the scaffold platform above the North Transept to see close up the cleaning work on the Portland stone and gilding of the ceiling. A two part latex product called Arte Mundit® incorporating small amounts of EDTA and Ammonia as active constituents was being used to remove the dirt from the stone surface. The process was explained to the group by Mr David Dunscombe from NIMBUS the contractor for this project. The Arte Mundit® is sprayed onto the previously vacuumed dirty surface and peeled off 24 hours later. Some minimal aqueous removal of residues was also necessary to produce what all agreed was an astonishing result. The gilded enrichments were being cleaned with 5% Ammonia solution and swabs in the usual way. This had the effect of lifting the whole scheme and enlivening the architectural detail. The next port of call was the Trophy Room, so called because Nelson's trophies were displayed there following his death. The room currently houses the Great Model of St Paul's at 1:24 scale, designed by Wren in 1673 to illustrate his favoured design, it is said to have cost more than �600 to build. Many alternative designs and smaller models were on show, including the few surviving parts of Wren's original model from the early stages of the project. We made our way back across the gallery below the west window and along the triforium and again through fascinating service areas to the Conservation Studio where Suzie Wright introduced us to the many models and works of art stored there illustrating proposed developments to the internal decorative schemes produced over three centuries. Suzie described her work on one model of a design by Alfred Stevens for a revised decorative scheme for the dome circa 1862 and the intention to prepare all the models for exhibition. She invited all to look out from a gallery high above the Quire, accessed from a small door in the Conservation Studio wall, to examine the William Blake Richmond mosaics at close hand. The view was breathtaking. All present expressed their thanks to Suzie and all at St Paul's who had made this very interesting and enlightening tour possible. The afternoon visit to St Michael's Cornhill, was an excellent opportunity to examine the work of the 19th century master wood carver William Gibbs Rogers. Much of Rogers' former acclaimed work was in homage of Grinling Gibbons, St Michael's in contrast illustrates his own individual style with a combination of artistic influences and elements combined to produce a pleasing medley. His finely carved pew ends with allegorical images of the highest quality workmanship were a delight. The party were very grateful for the insights Paul Ellis gave in his accounts of W.G. Rogers and his work and also for the torch without which much detail would have been hidden from view.
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