Wells Cathedral 1979-1984

In the summer of 1979 I  joined the Wells conservation team under Professor Robert Baker as a statue conservator on the west front. During the winter months I worked I the Cathedral Yard as a stone mason. Professor Baker  and his wife Eve had  long established a reputation of working with traditional materials in new ways. Winchester cathedral is a case in point where they had not only transferred wall paintings in the Holy Sepulcher Chapel but also restored the tiled ambulatory firing their own tiles. Professor Baker was a materials genius and working for him we learned some of his skills. When working on these figures there were no set answers. Every carving was taken individually and a program of non-evasive treatments based on compatible materials was applied. Many people have requested the recipes or methods we applied at Wells not realising that without the  training in the understanding of materials and their correct application according to the specific conditions and circumstances recipes are next to useless.  

It was my great ambition to work on a cathedral and a great privilege. It provided me with a priceless experience at a time when I was sufficiently trained to appreciate it.