4 C O N T E X T 1 7 3 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 Deep clean for St Michael’s The 19th-century interiors of St Michael’s Abbey, Farnborough, Hampshire, have been given a deep clean. The job involved cleaning all the decorative stone surfaces inside the church, including the nave, transept and chancel, using latex paste, and various poulticing and dry and wet cleaning methods. The neo-gothic abbey, still in active Benedictine use, was designed by Gabriel-Hippolyte Destailleur, and opened in 1881. A substantial amount of dirt, grease and dust had built up over the walls, ceiling, ornate mouldings and sculptural features over many decades. In some cases, these elements were blackened with smoke from the candles, oil lamps and incense, which are ritually burned within the abbey on a daily basis. The liquid latex was applied systematically in sections to avoid tide lines. As the latex cured, it created a poultice and lifted the staining and debris to the stone’s surface without penetrating it. Once dry, the latex poultice was mechanically removed, cleaning and clearing the surfaces of staining without damaging the historic stone. The abbey was founded by the Empress Eugénie (1826– 1920) as a mausoleum for her late husband Napoleon III (1808–1873), and their son the Prince Imperial (1856–1879), both of whom lie in the Imperial Crypt, along with Eugénie herself, all in granite sarcophagi provided by Queen Victoria. The conservation contractor was DBR (London). A Natterer’s bat in the church of St Lawrence, Radstone, Northants (Photo: Chris Damant) Bats in Churches The National Bats in Churches Survey, a citizen science project run by the Bats in Churches partnership, has been using volunteers to gather data on how and why bats are using churches. Bats in Churches is a fiveyear partnership between the Bat Conservation Trust, Church of England, Natural England, Churches Conservation Trust and Historic England, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. It is thought at least 60 per cent of pre-16th century churches in England house bat roosts, but the true figure could be much higher. The Bats in Churches Project has already carried out bat mitigation works in over 30 project churches, and is closely monitoring the results. Over 20 more churches now have plans in place to help manage their bat roosts. Much of this work has been possible due to the new Bats in Churches class licence, which allows experienced ecologists to carry out complex work around bat roosts. The work has highlighted the importance of bringing together church communities, architects, ecologists and heritage specialists to share their experience and expertise. This includes training bat workers to work with churches, and providing professional training to heritage specialists on working around bats, aiming to create a base of professionals who understand the issues around both churches and bats. The ceiling of the Benedictine St Michael’s Abbey, Farnborough, after cleaning
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