Fragile, Handle with Care!

25 Jul 2014

Two days of intensive, specialised conservation work at Tabley House

The Tabley House Collection saw two days of intensive, specialised conservation work with restoration of gilded picture frames and cleaning of three chandeliers.

It is 20 years since the chandeliers were last cleaned, and the same team from Brotheridge Chandeliers were called in to give each chandelier a “service wash” to last another 20 years. 

Three of the seven chandeliers on display in the Collection were cleaned. They include a glass lantern, dated approximately 1770, designed by Ince and Mahew, and thought to be one of only two in the country. An early 19th century glass chandelier, attributed to Fand C Osler of Birmingham dated 1840-45, was carefully dismantled and each piece painstakingly washed, polished and then re-hung on the metal frame. Finally, the gilt wood chandelier in the Gallery at the Collection was given a careful dust with a special vacuum cleaner, so as not to remove the delicate gold leaf.

Terry Brotheridge, who has cleaned chandeliers in some of the finest stately homes in the country over the last 40 years, said: “It was nice to return to Tabley House after all this time and reacquaint myself with these beautiful chandeliers and lanterns.”

Preserving gilt wood was also the order of the day for specialist picture frame conservator Tim Newbery.

Tim also has a long association with the Collection, being one of the conservators who worked on all the frames prior to the Collection opening to the public in 1989. He’s been back a few times since, and on this visit is restoring minor damage to some of the magnificent frames that surround the paintings. Over the years, as small pieces of frame have become detached they have been collected and carefully catalogued until such time as they could be stuck back into place. 

Tim Newbery has been restoring picture frames for 35 years and was delighted to be asked to apply his skills again for the Tabley House Collection.

He said: “Some of the frames are over 170 years old and often made of plaster or composite, which becomes brittle. It’s no surprise that they need a little repair work every now and then. These minor repairs should ensure that the Collection is picture perfect for some time to come.”