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St Mary's Church, Derby - Architect Specified
St Mary’s Rectory in Derby is a Grade II listed building designed in 1837 by AWN Pugin and built in 1838-1839. In 1853, the Lady Chapel was added with an ornate alter designed by Paul Pugin, the son of the original architect. It is in this Lady Chapel that Bagnalls carried out the required redecoration work. The work included cleaning the 19th century figurative panels, repainting the altar, the reredos and associated paneling and the application of gold leaf detail.
The work was carried out by Bagnalls Heritage trained painters using intricate redecoration skills to ensure the integrity of the substrate and recreating the vibrancy of the original features. The figurative panels were cleaned with a delicate cleaning solution on a lint free cloth and soft brushes were used to remove the build-up of dirt. The alter and reredos had to be cleaned and made ready for inspection by the church staff, prior to any painting being undertaken. There were some movement cracks within the panels and altar which had to be delicately repaired. The paint was to an Akzo Nobel specification and most of the work was completed in oil-based eggshell but rarely used flat oil was used on the stone statue of Mary for authenticity. The colours were mixed on site, by hand, to ensure matching to the existing palette. The gold leaf was not to be renewed so extreme care had to be taken picking round the intricate areas using fitches and artist brushes to recreate the original finish. However, gold leaf was applied bringing to life the Latin transcript on the altar.
We used mobile tower access to bridge over the early 19th century altar and all areas around the altar, floor, and religious artifacts were protected with sheeting. The work was completed over two weeks and had to be carried out in a quiet and respectful manner as the church and chapel remained open whilst we were working. The painting was carried out using oil-based products therefore we had to ensure the correct disposal of any waste, all the empty tins were recycled and the wet waste was collected by a special waste contractor.
The work was carried out by Bagnalls Heritage trained painters using intricate redecoration skills to ensure the integrity of the substrate and recreating the vibrancy of the original features. The figurative panels were cleaned with a delicate cleaning solution on a lint free cloth and soft brushes were used to remove the build-up of dirt. The alter and reredos had to be cleaned and made ready for inspection by the church staff, prior to any painting being undertaken. There were some movement cracks within the panels and altar which had to be delicately repaired. The paint was to an Akzo Nobel specification and most of the work was completed in oil-based eggshell but rarely used flat oil was used on the stone statue of Mary for authenticity. The colours were mixed on site, by hand, to ensure matching to the existing palette. The gold leaf was not to be renewed so extreme care had to be taken picking round the intricate areas using fitches and artist brushes to recreate the original finish. However, gold leaf was applied bringing to life the Latin transcript on the altar.
We used mobile tower access to bridge over the early 19th century altar and all areas around the altar, floor, and religious artifacts were protected with sheeting. The work was completed over two weeks and had to be carried out in a quiet and respectful manner as the church and chapel remained open whilst we were working. The painting was carried out using oil-based products therefore we had to ensure the correct disposal of any waste, all the empty tins were recycled and the wet waste was collected by a special waste contractor.