Malmesbury Market Cross, Wiltshire

Having spent many years working in and around Malmesbury it was nice to focus our attention on the Market Cross, built at the end of the 15th Century it was, according to a quote of the time "a place for poor folks to stand when the rain cometh. Today it remains one of the finest examples of its kind in England.

We presented the town council with a conservation report and were awarded the contract on the basis of our report and competitive pricing structure.

For selective & sensitive stone cleaning we employed a Hunter electronically controlled, low-pressure, nebulous water washing system. This is one of the least aggressive forms of stone cleaning available. Its application is particularly useful where water-soluble dirt is present or water-soluble chemical compounds bind the dirt. Thicker encrustations of soiling which tend to form in protected areas of a building not regularly washed by rain may be softened by our system and subsequently mechanically removed. This improvement of the Nebulous spray method (also known as, as intermittent mist spray) has been developed by the directors of Minerva our system allows for ultra low-pressure water washing & can be timed to come on & off for just seconds, the aim is to apply the minimum amount of water for the minimum duration to soften the dirt, & facilitate easy removal of Sulphated crusts.

After the structure was cleaned we repaired and applied a lime putty shelter-coat to the lantern and pinnacles, we then had the opportunity to base the recarving of vandalised faces and grotesques on local characters.