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 sheltercoated the lantern
and pinnacles, we then had the opportunity to base the recarveing of vandalised
faces and grotesques on local characters.
