Oak coffer at historic church restored to former glory

Southampton based Ian Wall Furniture Restoration were contacted by the Parish Church of St Margaret of Antioch, East with West Wellow about an old oak coffer that had been used for many years to store the flower arranging paraphernalia.

The back and base had become detached and it was no longer stable. Upon inspection it was found to have suffered badly with woodworm and the bottom rail at the rear was so badly damaged it fell away.

With a limited budget it was decided to insert a section of oak so that it was able to hold the back panels and floor in situ. A length of oak was dimensioned and machined to accept the old structure and then inserted into place. It was then coloured to bring it to a dark colour to match as best possible within the time constraints.

Established in 1215, the year of the signing of Magna Carta, St Margaret's has been a place of worship and pilgrimage for 800 years. A Grade 1 listed building with highly distinctive decoration it is also the burial place of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing.

These three images show the damage, the piece of woodworm rail that was removed and the final image of the repair.

For further information on Ian Wall Furniture Restoration visit www.antiquefurniturerestoration.co.uk