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Work has begun on conserving Gloucester Cathedral’s Great Cloister, an intricate and important undertaking as this structure features the earliest surviving fully developed fan vault.
The project was undertaken after a trial had found that the cloister was under significant threat. Extensive evidence of decay and weathering from salt and chemical pollution was found on the stones as well as on the stained glass. There were also some areas where repointing of the stone had been undertaken using inappropriate hard Portland cement, while the roof had been renovated using reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
To begin, the cathedral’s masons are cleaning the walls and vaults and removing the cement, replacing it with more appropriate, breathable lime mortar. They will also carve and fix new stone as needed. Alongside this work, Chiz Harward, from Gloucestershire-based Urban Archaeology, will conduct the first detailed record of the Great Cloister in order to analyse its structure and architectural evolution. Surprisingly, despite its historic significance, the cloister has never been researched in depth, with most previous work concentrating on the superficial elements of the fan vault.
Chiz believes, however, that there is much to be learned by looking past the decorative details. He stated: ‘With this vault the abbey’s masons were working out new ways of building – true fan vaulting had probably never been tried before, anywhere. If you look behind the tracery there is a very complex structure of shaped blocks transferring stresses and forces through the walls. This approach does not seem to be repeated in later fan vaults, suggesting that the masons may have been playing safe as they innovated, drawing on experiences gained during the reinforcement of the south transept and the nearly contemporary work to refashion the Quire and Presbytery.’
In addition to the fan vault, there are other intriguing parts of the Great Cloister which offer further areas of research. While most of the current cloister was constructed in the 14th century, shortly after the Black Death scourged the population, there is evidence of earlier iterations locked away within the masonry, with blocked doorways and reused stonework from the Norman cloister, scorched stones attesting to past fires, and 13th-century decorations hidden behind their Perpendicular successors. Watch this space for further updates on what this project uncovers.
Text: Kathryn Krakowka
