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Shrewsbury Abbey - Charlton Monument

Conservation of polychromed monument

The monument to William and Anne Charlton stands in the west end of the north aisle of Shrewsbury Abbey. Up to recently, there was another monument right next to it but this was moved by Nimbus to the south aisle; this enabled a close look to be taken at this important 16th century alabaster monument. It was found to be in a very poor state having suffered from having been kept outside for over thirty years and then from a number of floods.

In particular, the alabaster was suffering from the application of impervious overpaint. High quality repairs had been carried out in plaster of Paris but these also were decaying. The conservation of the monument involved removal of the effigies, consolidation and repair of sandstone cornice, consolidation of the core and the meticulous removal of overpaint without damage to the few areas of original polychrome.

Client: PCC of Shrewsbury Abbey