We are well underway with the second aspect of the restoration, resorting the floor. There are two types of flooring within the church space; parquet which is flooring composed of wooden blocks arranged in a geometric pattern and stone flooring consisting of Portland stone. Both of these flooring types need some TLC to restore them to their former glory.

 

The parquet flooring is having each section assessed and the wooden block which needs replacing and re-gluing are receiving the care they need which should take only a matter of days. This style of flooring was introduced in 1684, replacing the current marble floors which required constant washing, this typically would rot the joints beneath the floors

 

 

 

The Portland Stone flooring takes weeks of work to restore. Initially, the old stone needs to be removed. This requires the stone to be broken into smaller pieces so it can be
exchanged for the new stone.  The smaller pieces that are still in good condition will be recycled and used as part of the new flooring.

 

 

Dale and Ian from Traditional Stone Restoration are undertaking this project whilst also recently completing restoration at Brighton College and Duke & Rye PH, Chichester which used to be a church.

 

 

The current stone is estimated to be part of the original church and dates back to 1800s. The stone, unlike the parquet flooring, does not require any adhesives but rather is cut to sit perfectly within the floor.

 

The final product looks stunning, the stone flooring runs either side of the naive and the parquet sits in the chnacel allowing for the historical aspect of the gallery to shine through.