This month at Arlington we have been running another programme of Conservation in Action. This is a fantastic opportunity to engage with our adoring public and to show and tell from behind the scenes. Amongst other engagement opportunities, we have had clocks repaired and chandeliers and carriages cleaned.
With the help of Horologist Phil Kenning, the clocks at the house needed a quick condition check and a few repairs. The Dutch wall Clock in the Staircase Hallway was the first repair, due to the chain having come off the pulley. Next we came to a brass cased clock in the White Drawing Room. An interesting fact here is that the mercury cylinders in the pendulum might not be mercury. Gasp! It’s just as likely that they contain faux mercury which is a type of foil made to look like the liquid metal. Cheaper to produce and not so deadly. The striking longcase clock in the Blue Room was next on the repair list, made not too far away in Bideford. Unfortunately due to a lack of spare parts, it ticks, but doesn’t chime. Yet.
Last on the repair list was our French Mantle clock. This was a tricky one as it stops just as it gets to 12. After a re-start the problem was the rack arm contacting the snail. (If you know your horology terminology that will make perfect sense) This too was soon going again.
Next on the list was the Whiter Drawing Room Chandelier. Now we like a challenge here at Arlington towers, so with some room rearrangement and a mental walk through procedure, House Steward Dave and Assistant House Steward Robin set about this most delicate task. Firstly some sections had to be removed to aid access so two rows of droplets and all but one of the spears were taken down. Carefully. They are then marked with numbers and letters so the correct ones go back in the correct places. Hopefully. Armed with ladders, pony hair brushes, cotton wool pads, and vacuum cleaners we set to work. This is a slightly nerve wracking task as there is no room for error. Even more so when you’re observed and questioned about what we are doing! Systematically cleaning section by section we removed all the dust we could while fielding comments about the similarity to a particular episode of a particular comedy show. This was an inevitable comparison to Delboy and Rodney, so a sign went up right next to the raffle tickets…. If we had a pound for every time someone said…
To clean a carriage is no simple task. Especially when it is the Onslow Travelling Chariot. As with most objects, Work from the top down and then outside, under, then in. There is also the mix of materials to be considered so we use a variety of equipment. Pony hair brushes, lint free cloths, torches, vacuums and evidence bags for pests. Removal of dust is the main concern as we are now in full swing of the open season. To the untrained eye the carriages do look very clean, but there’s a dark side to dust. Literally. If you shine a light on an object from above it might look perfectly fine but to analyse the dust that lands on an object we need to use light at an angle of around 20 degrees. This is known in the trade as raking light. A carriage is a mixed material object so there is leather, metal work, woodwork, rubber and textiles all in one place. Cleaning the paintwork is a delicate task as there can be cracked or blistered and detached areas. These need to be cleaned up to and/or avoided, so there isn’t any more damage. There is also, an access issue. The easy to reach sections are fine, but there is also a lot of crawling on knees, contortion, lying underneath and fitting into gaps we really didn’t think we could fit! If we didn’t clean them, the dust that settles reacts with the environment and causes cementation. Sticky dust basically. This, if it’s left long enough will be very difficult to remove without damaging the surface it has stuck to. Having finished, all the fun and games gets detailed on the condition reports so any changes can be monitored.
We do love our jobs!
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