There was a few days where snow prevented work happening and the cold, damp conditions has slowed the drying of the plaster.
Here are a few shots of the plasterers at work
The plasterers designed special curved tools to ensure there was even coverage on the curve.
They also desinged another special tool to create the groved effect in the plaster
And this is the very centre of the roof where the sun burst will be attached
And ok, why not- I love my views of the garden from Apollo, so here’s another one!
Ok so this is a more unusual way to ‘frame’ an image, but I like it!
Now the question I ask myself is what to do when this is all over as we have just over a month to go, Im sure I won’t be bored for long….so if you have anything you’d like to see here about Stourhead, let me know.
Well Apollos’ appearance in Pride and Prejudice was all but brief.
I haven’t seen the film since it came out 4 years ago- it certainly rained a lot. I fear that was ‘film rain’- we certainly have had a shower or two like that this year!
Hope you are having a good Christmas break.
I’m looking forward to a visit to the plasterers workshop to look at the sunburst for the temple being made- I promise plenty of photos!
Well with just a few days to go till Christmas…Stourhead is looking very white and crisp! And Apollo will be featuring in the 2005 film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice over the festive break.
Hope you have a good Christmas and New Year. Here are some pictures taken this week.
Well with just a week to go to Christmas, I thought it would be nice to share the view from Apollo throughout 2009- being so high up meant some cracking shots were taken over the last few months.
This was taken back in August- the garden was so lush and green!
The end of the summer- not so green but a few, just a few hints of Autumn sneaking in! Late September
Early October sunshine
The Tulip tree looks splendid here bathed in beautiful sunlight. Taken in early October, it had tiny hints of yellow on the leaves.
Taken later on in October- this was a cloudy day but the reflection on the lake was near perfect. You can see a few more trees turning some amazing Autumn colours.
This is one of my favourite shots of the garden- it shows the colourful tapestry of the trees, all knitted together. The Tulip tree is still very green with only a few hints of yellow.
First week in November and the Tulip tree is beautiful golden shade but there is still a hint of green in the leaves.
Even in early November the colours are still vibrant across the landscape. Admittedly I’m biased, but I definitely think the garden looks amazing whatever the time of year.
This was taken a week later, I remember this day really well- it was so damp and misty, this was the clearest photo I had of the garden.
Mists shrouding the garden, turning into a magical, mysterious place.
And as if by magic…….in little over a week, this is starting to resemble winter, with just a hint of Autumn…seeming a distant memory.
The stark beauty of winter starting to show through
The trees looking wispy and delicate except for the evergreen trees, which look far more prominent at this time of year.
I took this one today- despite the dark and dingy skies- they contrast perfectly with landscape, ’sandwiched’ between the sky and the lake.
Everytime I go upto Apollo, the experience is different as something new has happened.
The interior of the main roof and the internal ceiling have had their first skim or layer of plaster. The acoustics in there has changed totally with far less echo.
The pictures weren’t terribly exciting today but for me personally it ws really exciting to see all the metal cage work covered up on the inside for te first- it felt like the interior was really taking shape.
Inside Apollo you feel quite cut off all the way up inside the roof! The outside view today was quite bleak but mysterious with thick haze cast over the garden…thankfully it did clear up, but it certainly gave a different feeling to the garden.
I went up to Apollo yesterday and felt like I was really missing go up to the top of the scaffolding.
So I went a bit further up past the cornice which is now finished and looks brilliant not that I am an expert plasterer:)
I climbed up the ladders into the roof space. As I was going up I took a shot of the huge metal ring that supports the ribs of the internal ceiling- apologies if this is getting too technical.
Well this metal ring has been covered in wood nd we won’t e seeing it for much longer, as it will get covered up soon.
The plasterers were setting up yesterday on the highest scaffolding platform, getting ready to apply plaster to the metal cage attached to the roof itself.
As you can see in the image above there is some extra layers of metal over the very top of the roof and at certain key places around the dome. This is to give extra support when the plaster is applied in parts of the roof where it will be under more strain.
Okay so this last shot isn’t of Apollo, but for me the garden looks stunning throughout the year especially in winter. Being so high up has meant I have taken some decent shots of the garden over the last 5/6 months, so in the next post I will upload a selection to show the changing seasons and weather too!
I have also set up a group on Facebook called ‘Temple of Apollo Conservation’ it is rather embryonic to say the least but for those of you that do Facebook, take a look and some comments- can be memories, favourite stories, snippets from history and more…….even pictures you may have of Apollo!
We’re reaching a new phase in the project with the plastering team starting work in earnest…and there is serious amounts of work to do and it’s not a clean job either or quick process. To start with the plaster needs to be mixed using traditional ingredients- it includes lime putty and horse hair.
At this stage it is made to a wet consistency.
It is then applied to a surface and today it happens to be the cornice
ok, so at the moment, it’s not looking like a cornice…so the plasterers made a rather nifty wooden tool to give those beautiful groove marks you’d see in a cornice
Looking a bit more cornice like
Beautiful, classic cornice work
So you can see things are really starting to happen…and it is so exciting to think by the start of the season Apollo would received its’ facelift!
For me, everything started nearly a year ago when I climbed up the internal scaffolding that was put up so that the extent of the damage could be properly assessed.
As you can see the water damage was pretty severe…and in places it was so bad you could make the roof move with your bare hands- trust me I did it!
I do hark back to the aerial experience post on the blog but this was a really new thing for me…to be honest I really don’t do heights at the best of times…so then to climb some rather long ladders…trust me never look down…that was my mistake to start with!
One of my roles has been to document the work and tell people about what is going on. I have throughly enjoyed this as I have got to know a really great team of people both within and outside of the National Trust, like ‘Biggs’ the building firm in charge of the project and the architects, Caroe and Partners. It is truly inspirational to be part of team that is so passionate for the cause…and that’s restoring Apollo with a new roof, correct to the original profile.
Moving into the winter- the main focus of the work is going to be applying more coats of plaster to the walls but also constructing and installing the ornate plasterwork design will truly bring the building alive.
Meg Sims, our Historic Properties Assistant for Wiltshire is co-ordinating production of some information panels we have in the Garden. The final panel to be produced will be installed at the end of the project. Tt would be good to know what you would like to see on these panels. I am setting up a poll- it would be really great to know what you think should be on there for visitors to read.
I can’t believe it was over a week ago when I was at the Temple of Apollo on the Stourhead uncovered day. I usually work behind the scenes, deciding what information and photos to put on the information panels. Then I work with a designer to produce a panel – which I hope people will want to read!
I was as fascinated – as everyone else to see the photos of the building work in progress behind the scaffolding. Unlike Rachel – I don’t get the chance to go into the Temple and report on progress or climb up scaffolding towers and ladders (much to my relief – as I’m not good with heights…)
It was great to meet people who were discovering the garden for the first time, as well as those who had been regular visitors to the garden for the last 50 years – man and boy! One very interested visitor was the lady who is going to be the first bride to be married in the Temple in early April 2010. She came along with family and friends to check on progress….
What is fantastic is that we have been able to make the budget stretch to be able to decorate the inside of the Temple as well – watch this space…
A contribution from Peter McDonald, the senior rural Surveyor for Wessex- since I posted this, he has provided me with a photo!
The floor joists in my house are egg shaped. They were sawn by hand from logs with one man working in a pit and another standing on the tree trunk using a two man saw. As they worked the saw blade twisted and hence the slightly egg shaped timbers. This was done at the local brick works and the timber is elm felled from the hedgerows: all this happened within a mile of the house.
This was the norm in the countryside but in later years local timber became scarce and softwood imports from Canada and elsewhere became dominant, travelling thousands of miles in many cases. This continued for a long time but in recent decades the conifer planting during the inter war and post war years has come to maturity, providing a source that is more local. However, we have got out of the habit of sourcing locally and building standards have changed, leaving it difficult to use our own timber.
There was also a strong alternative market for fencing materials so the true value of English wood has not always been realised.
We have been determined to address this at Stourhead and start to use our own timber in our own buildings when appropriate. This is how we arrived at using the Stourhead Douglas fir in the reconstruction of the Apollo Temple roof. It was felled, sawn and dried without leaving the original “Stourhead” land. It is now being cut to a radius and jointed before erection at the Temple later in the year. Each piece grown at Stourhead has been marked with an “NT” brand for future identification.
This is our second project of this sort and we are looking forward to the next major restoration.
