Conservation work reveals original wording on Framilode plaque

St Peter’s Church in Framilode was built by public subscription and by a Church Commissioners’ grant in 1854. It was one of many Commissioners churches built with money voted by Parliament as a result of the Church Building Act of 1814 and related further Acts.

The money was either used to pay for the cost of a church in full or as a grant to cover part of the cost. St Peter’s Church was awarded a grant of £200 and this was recorded on a cast iron plaque originally erected in the porch of the church. The main condition attached to these grants was a requirement for a number of seats to be reserved for the use of poor parishioners.

Over time the surface of the plaque has deteriorated due to corrosion. Condensation forming on the plaque during cold weather will be continuing this process. The present vicar, the Reverend Vernon Lidstone, approached the Historic Metalwork Conservation Company to carry out conservation work to the plaque to stabilise it and to hopefully reveal the original wording.

The plaque was collected from the church in July 2016. Most of the plaque was originally cast from a standard pattern with blank spaces for inserting the reason for the grant, the amount of money, number of seats and other references. An iron plate, riveted to the back of the plaque, helped to secure the inserted iron pieces. Removal of this plate revealed that the loose pieces were secured with a clay material.

The plaque was first carefully cleaned using an air abrasive tool to remove loose dirt and corrosion, helping the enhance the lettering detail. The remaining compact rust layers were treated with Fertan Rust Converter to stabilise them.

After treatment and stabilisation, the plaque was protected by the application of a high-quality paint system to give it long term protection and reveal the original wording. All surfaces were first primed by brushing using Dulux Metalshield Zinc Phosphate primer before application of a second coat of Dulux Metalshield primer. The back plate was then refitted before being finish brush painted using a grey Metalshield gloss. The lettering was then picked out with two coats of a black enamel gloss.

For more from this company visit their website www.hm-cc.uk