Issue 41 Spring web - Flipbook - Page 77
Major W.J. Thompson, the president of the Worcester
Archaeological Society. He began by carrying out the
necessary structural repairs. The Society then took on the
task of restoring the building, which was funded by two
sisters, Elsie and Matley Moore. In return they were given
a life-long tenancy.
The two sisters spent from 1949 until their eventual
deaths in the 1980’s returning Greyfriars to its present
restored condition. This included the filling of the house
with objects saved from other historic buildings, giving
them a new lease of life. This is probably how the
entranceway lantern was acquired. Greyfriars House and
Garden is listed Grade I (May 1954) by Historic England
and was given to the National Trust in 1966.
The lantern which is suspended from the ceiling of the
passageway that forms the original carriage entrance, is
made of wrought iron, and previously finished with a
black bituminous paint. The basic lantern frame has six
sides and is decorated with scrolls and repousse leaves.
There are larger scrolls springing from the top corners of
the frame with a large repoussé leaf fitted to each, and
smaller scrolls to the lower corners with simpler leaves.
The top of each upper scroll is connected to an iron donut
on a central in iron tube. This tube has a bronze hook at
its upper end that suspends it from the ceiling. The light
fitting is suspended below the lower end of the tube. A
door is fitted to one of the six sides allowing access to the
light bulb. There is a small decorative scroll feature fitted
to the upper part of the central tube above the scrolls.
The small lower scrolls are connected below the lantern
frame to a turned iron finial. Each lantern face and the
base are glazed with a textured glass piece retained with
small zinc washers to the bolts securing the decorative
scrolls.
Above, Greyfriars House, on Friar Street, Worcester
The lantern was in a poor general condition. It was very
dirty and had cobwebs and the odd spot of bird guano to
its surface. The glass base piece was covered in a layer of
dirt and insect debris. The bituminous paint finish was
beginning to fail with any exposed iron surfaces covered
with a thin layer of rust. There was a crack to the glass
pane in the opening door and one of the lower decorative
leaves was missing.
The National Trust decided they would like the lantern
to be conserved to stem the slow process of deterioration,
improve its appearance and show it was being cared for.
Peter Meehan ACR, of the Historic Metalwork Conservation Company was contracted to carry out the works.
After being photographed, the lantern was disconnected
from the electrical supply before being carefully taken
down and transferred to a workshop for treatment.
Above, the iron lantern to the passageway before conservation
countersunk machine screws or nuts and bolts. The glass
was carefully removed and set aside for cleaning and to
repair the broken piece. The old bituminous paint was removed using a commercial paint stripper. It was brushed
onto the metal surface and left to act for a couple of hours.
The softened paint was then removed using scrappers and
medium grade Scotchbrite pads. Removal of the paint revealed a lightly rusted iron surface. The surface of each
iron part was briefly rinsed with water before being dried
using a hot air gun. Loose rust and any remaining paint
In order to fully conserve the lantern, removing the old
paint layers and corrosion, it was first completely dismantled after each piece had been labelled. The decorative
elements were fixed to the lantern frame either with small
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