polishing the floor with a toothbrush at Glynde Place

Posted by carlotta on Wednesday November 28th, 2012 at 2:20pm

The older, Elizabethan, half of Glynde Place has not been renovated, so I have spent very little time photographing it. Although this section of the house has been sealed off from the builders, dust has managed to seep through. In the beautiful gallery room a monumental task is being undertaken by the on-site conservation cleaner, Susie Turner. The gallery is nearly 18m long, with an ancient wood floor and intricately carved panelled walls. Fine building dust has permeated into it all, settling on every carved surface and into the worn grain of the floor. In order to clean the floor and restore it to its former beauty, Susie must dig out the dust and apply furniture polish with a toothbrush. Once she finishes the floor, Susie must rescue the wall carvings. She figures that, working every morning, five days a week, she should finish in time for the public opening of the room in May. The last photograph shows the intricacy of the wall carvings, pre-building dust.

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Posted in: architecture and renovation, working environments and tagged in: architectural renovation, building work, conservation cleaning, Elizabethan architecture, Elizabethan manor, Glynde Place