Restoration

Canterbury Cathedral’s prayers were answered when every one of the 144 lots from its cathedral stone sale were sold at Canterbury Auction Galleries at the weekend.

It is not every day you get the chance to own a unique, original piece of the oldest church in England still in use. If that is your desire, on September 24 your prayers will be answered.

The owner of the Bourne Mill Antiques Centre, devastated by fire last month, is hopeful the lower part of the building can reopen later this month.

Sir John Soane’s private apartments will be unveiled this week as the second stage of the refurbishment of the museum in his former home is completed.

In April 2013, the Nantgarw China Works Trust took on the lease of the site of the Nantgarw pottery where porcelain was produced under the aegis of William Billingsley between 1813-14 and again from 1817-19.

Earlier this month, 100 years to the day since the outbreak of the First World War, Sandham Memorial Chapel near Newbury reopened to the public after restoration.

While Sir John Soane’s labyrinthine central London treasure trove of a house is very well known, less familiar is his country home to the west of the city.

Staff and officials are still assessing the extent of the damage and loss at The ‘Mack’, Glasgow School of Art’s iconic Mackintosh Building, which was devastated by fire.

A young clock conservator, Jonathon Kelly, is being given an opportunity to work on a rare 18th century musical and mechanical clock made by George Pyke.

The cutting-edge technology of 3D printing is being used to restore a spectacular Meissen table fountain that is to go on public display for the first time in 150 years when the V&A’s new ‘Europe 1600-1800’ galleries open in late 2014.

Martin Roberts, the UK specialist who worked as a consultant on the Punta Cana site, discusses the importance of the Pewter Wreck.

When fire destroyed the workshop of Glyn Elias’ Dorking antiques shop he was so determined to carry on the business he had it open the very next day.

LONG before this picture came to light, Salvator Mundi was a known work by Leonardo recorded as either lost or destroyed.

AFTER more than 17 months of work, the restoration of the Cucci cabinets, on display at Alnwick Castle since 1930, is complete. The Kent-based conservator Yannick Chastang was chosen to restore what he calls “the most valuable pieces of furniture in the world”.

THE home of West Midlands toy specialists Astons is the grade II listed Baylies's Charity School, on Tower Street, Dudley.

CHINA is to encourage the return of its cultural heritage by offering overseas collectors “reasonable compensation”.

THE St Ives studio that housed Sir Terry Frost, Peter Blake and Francis Bacon has won a £900,000 restoration grant.

JOHAN Ten Hoeve, a professional development diploma student on West Dean College’s clocks programme in West Sussex, has made a replica of a Thomas Tompion clock for the Royal Observatory Greenwich.

Markenfield Hall, a 14th century moated manor house near Ripon in Yorkshire, has won the new Historic Houses Association and Sotheby’s Restoration Award for 2008.

THE Conservation Register, which provides detailed information on conservation-restoration practices from across the UK and Ireland, is now available on the Internet.