Campbell Smith and Cousins were delighted and proud to have been appointed by Sir Robert McAlpine to assist with the restoration and refurbishment of St Marylebone Parish Church, a Grade 1 listed building in London.
The project is part of the Changing Lives campaign, one of Central London’s largest and most significant community projects.
PROJECT TASKS AND CHALLENGES
Inside the parish church, works included specialist decoration, conservation and restoration to the Nave ceiling, The refurb of the Crypt, along with attendance works to other central nave areas and external facades.
The external walls were scrapped back, sealed with a Keim Algicide Anti – Fungal Solution, filled using Keim Spachtel, sanded, re sealed, with the final 2 coats of Keim Soldalit mineral based paint being applied.
The portico soffit was extremely dirty and had to be washed fully prior to any decoration applied, that being said all walls were finished prior to the late request of the portico works and therefore the challenge was to protect all finished surfaces prior to cleaning.
Upon the completion of cleaning, the portico was painted in the same product and colour as the walls.
The External North façade cross above the Narthex doors was stripped, reprimed, and regilded using 22ct Gold leaf.
The Nave ceiling received a conservation clean to all gilded and moulded sections, prior to the redecorations of all flat panelled sections.
The flat panels were in an extremely poor condition which required a skim fill of filler prior to an overpaint using classidur.
The 4 main beds of the ceiling were re plastered using lime, these had to have PH testing prior to any application of paint to ensure that the product applied would be compatible with the lime.
Although the project was not a full overhaul, a variety of works took place on this project over the entirety of the site, each with a unique methodology.