Restoration work in the Walled Garden – Spring 2015

Restoration to key items in Charleston’s Walled Garden funded by the Pebble Trust.

We have taken advantage of the closed winter season to carry out some important and much-needed restoration work in the Walled Garden, which is one of the main attractions at Charleston. These projects have very generously been funded by the Pebble Trust.

The Pebble Trust very generously awarded a grant of £2,000 towards the conservation and restoration of some of the key items in the Walled Garden, including the Quentin Bell Pond, the Piazza and a life-sized bust by David Garnett. This generous grant directly addressed the water ingress of the Quentin Bell Pond and its central core mosaic back plate, which included re-grouting and re-sealing the water system. The mosaic Piazza required re-pointing of fissures and cracks and careful cleaning of surface dirt and biological growth. The David Garnett bust needed delicate attention with de-ionised water and soft bristles to clean its surface. The work was carried out by Ben Bosence, building conservator, with whom Charleston has worked with before.