St Petroc's Font, Bodmin

St Petroc's Church,  Bodmin.
Norman Font Relocation


We were asked by the Reverend Graham Minors to undertake the conservation and relocation of the beautiful Norman font that is found in his church of St Petroc, Bodmin.

When we arrived on site, the monster font with its fantastic detail and intricate carving was located on top of a two tier granite 'step' plinth. This made baptisms and general use of the font rather difficult for people to use and also rather odd to admire.

It seemed that at some point the font had been relocated to this position, tucked away in the corner of the extreme end of the aisle. Its usual for the font to be situated in the center of the intersection between the nave and the transepts, for the procession to go around? I may be wrong.




Anyway, the idea was to relocate the font the this new central position for maximum impact but also importantly, ease of use for the parish to enjoy this fantastic piece of history.







So, here are a few pics to start with so that you can see how amazing a piece of 12th Century Norman carving this font is...

Condition:

The general condition of the bowl was assessed thoroughly for hairline cracks, fractures, any loose masonry or areas of carving that may be weak or easily damaged when lifting.

Hairline cracks like this one were found in the bowl but were not seen to be a problem for the moving once strapped up and protected.






The Dismantle:

The gantry was put in place within the church on padded feet to protect the floor.


Once we had worked out the best way to strap and lift the bowl, the top joints to the four columns were cut using fine wood saws.









This allowed the four corner columns to be removed, leaving the bowl ready to lift.

The bowl was positioned within our compound to be worked on. Whilst dismantled and set down in this position, the bowl was gently cleaned and conserved.

With the bowl out of the way, the measurements for the footprint were taken and recorded so that the font could be rebuilt accurately.










With the font now completely dismantled, wrapped up and stored, we got to work with the granite stepped plinth. The client decided that granite would be removed from the church completely and the space that it took up would be reclaimed!

  

 The stones were HUGE!

 Gone.
 Font and granite plinth courses removed.

New Location:

The new location in the center of the intersection had to be set out accurately within the four tower columns. The parish had already had a new and very powerful spot light installed in the new location also. Such a feature will be made of this font! 

The church decided to have the font bedded on a new octagonal granite base which would be set into the parquet flooring. The granite that was sourced for the job couldn't have been more local, De lank quarry were happy to help us out and found only 3 miles up the road!

Once the setting out was checked, double checked and triple checked... The floor was cut out to allow for the thickness of the granite.

The eight sections of new cut granite supplied and ready to fix... If the measurements are correct!

There was a choice of surface finishes to the granite, I'm pretty sure we the church went with 'dolly pointed'. Looks really good.




Chris has laid the stone perfectly and is grouting the joints.

Once the new base has been laid, the font could start to be rebuilt.

The central base plate gets bedded on almost neat lime putty with a stone dust mixer as a
pozzolan. This way, the joints when finished will be a very fine thin white joint, perfect for building these types of font or monument.

So, after careful cleaning and conservation to the bowl, the gantry is used to lift it into its new position. Bubble wrap and timber packing is used to protect the surfaces of the stone.









Lee sets out the feet for the stabilising columns below. Making sure that when the columns go back in, they are perfectly plumb! We don't want a wonky column!

Getting there now, The feet are in position and all that left is to bed those columns.

The mortars used to bed the stones are constantly sprayed to keep them moist, this prevents the stones from sucking the mortars dry too quickly and slows the carbonation process down for an ultimately stronger mortar.














The font is finished.

The location has made a real feature of this fine piece of carving and more importantly has allowed the font to become usable for Father Graham and his congregation. 

Here is the finished job:

This photo was taken by Peter Glaser Photography at an event at St Petroc's Church and used for an article in 'This is Cornwall'