Projects

Gateshead Visitor Centre

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The Gateshead Visitor Centre, formlerly St Mary's Church. The church sits adjacent to the Tyne Bridge at the South bank of the Tyne.

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Evidence of severe erosion along the bed of the stone to the bust at the base of the Hood Moulding.

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The completed repair after half of the face along the vertical plane had been carved and fixed.

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Damage to the chin, mouth, nose and head to the bust at the base of the Head Moulding.

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Intricate carving of stone and a minimum intervention approach was used to restore only the lost elements of the bust.

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Our Stone Mason carefully aligns and lifts the replacement section of Mullion into position.

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A close-up shot of the Mullion complete with tooled margins at its seat on top of the Stooling below.

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Evidence of previous cement based repairs and corroding iron armatures to the Tracery element of the window.

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The eroded section of the Tracery is carefully cut back to glass line in preparation of an indentation of new sandstone.

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The completed repair to the Tracery with detail including 'Dead Eyes' and tooling to exactly match that of the original.

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Missing sections to the projecting string course at high level and evidence of previous work carried out to the Hood Moulding above the window. This work was not carried out well and obvious protrusions exist which fail to respect the original line of the building.

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As much as possible of the original stone was retained. The previous indents to the Hood Moulding were kept, however, we undertook discrete redressing, assisting in improving the line to ensure a more consistent finish.

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Replacement of 3 no. cill stones including mullion stooling to the centre stone and right hand side surround stone to a window on the south elevation of the Nave Celestry.

The Gateshead Visitor Centre, formerly St Mary’s Church, has been a place of Christian worship since the 7th Century but there has been a religious community on or near the site since the Dark Ages, the Venerable Bede writing of monastic life in ‘Getehed’ in 653 AD.

The church has had a traumatic past, suffering occupation and bombardment during civil wars and was situated close to the explosions and fires which devastated large areas of Gateshead & Newcastle some two centuries later. In the long and eventful history of St. Mary’s, there is one element that has precipitated major changes and that is fire. Two devastating fires, in 1854 and 1979, have shaped the building into what you see today. Victorian additions were made to the building as a result of the first fire which swept the Quayside. The 1979 fire, which was localised within St. Mary’s, destroyed the Victorian oak furniture and stained glass windows and heralded the end of St. Mary’s as a place of worship; the small congregation moved to St. Edmund’s Chapel on Gateshead High Street.

St. Mary’s Church re-opened as a working building in November 1990 when Phillips Fine Art Auctioneers bought it and turned it into an auction house. Now owned by Gateshead Council, and officially known as the Gateshead Visitor Centre, St Mary’s Church is a Heritage Centre for the city.

Following the erection of an independent scaffold around the entire perimeter of the building, an in depth progressive survey was carried out by St. Astier Ltd to identify all necessary repairs. Proposals were then put forward to the Planning & Conservation Officers and other members of the Project Team for consideration.

Following a period of discussion and slight amendment to the proposals, a comprehensive Schedule of Repair that addressed the conservation needs of the building was in place.

The repairs cost a total of £100k and the contract was delivered over a 16 week period.

A variety of work was carried out including extensive re-pointing of mortar joints on the Aisles, Nave Clerestory, Transepts and Chancel. These elevations were specifically chosen as the stone showed obvious signs of weathering to the extent at which the face had retreated to a noticeable degree. This natural occurring process had most definitely been exacerbated by previous attempts to re-point the joints between the stones with a cement based mortar mix which had been applied in an obtrusive ‘strap like’ manner in areas clearly protruding the surface of the stone.

The use of such a mortar inhibited the structures’ ability to release absorbed water leading to a build up of moisture and crystallisation of salts at the position where moisture penetrates to the cement joint. The weakening of the stone by salts and the effects of freeze/thaw action had led to the eventual detachment of the cement in areas taking with it segments of the stone face.

Whilst the work carried out has without doubt improved the general appearance of the building (see photograph to the right) the aim of the repair was not focused on aesthetical gain but moreover on protection. The use of a lime based re-pointing mortar should through its porous characteristics not only allow the structure to dry out and ‘breath’ but should also prevent the build up of salts.

Selective indentation was also used as a method of preserving the structural integrity of the façade whilst restoring essential architectural elements such as hood mouldings, drip throatings, collars etc. and generally ensuring that water circuitry is maintained. In the interests of good conservation practice which focuses on the need for minimum intervention recommendation for indentation was restricted to essential areas where such repairs should by virtue of their location assist in preventing any further deterioration of adjoining stone elements.

Other works included pinning of fractured sections of stone which although in general appeared to be in relatively good condition may have been become detached in the future. The method of carefully drilling and setting very fine 4mm stainless steel helical bars meant that the historical fabric of the building was retained and essential features were not lost.

Falling under a separate contract the roof of the nave was recovered in a metal sheet with associated works carried out by St. Astier including the cleaning of gutters, hoppers and down pipes and the application of leaf guards to prevent any future blockages.

This project was added to our site on 30 August 2007 and is currently filed under Built Heritage .

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