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St. John's - Cardiff

Conservation of highly decorative tower parapet

The church of St. Johns stands in the middle of Cardiff City Centre. The tower dates from the 15th century and is in the decorative perpendicular style with a wealth of pinnacles, finial and turrets springing from a pierced parapet.

Nimbus was appointed as contractor with a specification that included for significant replacement of the decayed masonry. However, once the scaffold was erected and close inspection possible, it was discovered that most of the stones were joined together with a complex series of poured lead dowels. The removal of isolated stones would have involved the potential for an unacceptable level of damage to adjacent stones. The decision was made therefore to undertake only limited replacement of some of the parapet stonework and to apply mortar repairs to other areas.

Initially, all stone surfaces were cleaned using the DOF steam cleaning system. Following cutting out and replacement of selected stones with Bath stone to match the original, repairs using NHL 3.5 hydraulic lime were applied using ceramic armatures (Nim-Ts) where necessary. Finally, all the stone was protected with a shelter coat.

Other ancillary works were also carried out such as the replacement with stainless steel of the rusting iron tie bar that supported the weather vane and regilding of the weather vane itself.

Architect: Martin Killick
Client: PCC of St. John’s, Cardiff