Conservation of Mrs Smith’s Cottage
Mrs Smith’s Cottage is a heritage attraction owned by the North Kesteven Council and looked after by a number of the council’s employees and volunteers. It is located in the village of Navenby, Lincolnshire where it was the home of Mrs Hilda Smith (nee Craven) from 1922 until 1995, right up until the time of her passing. However, the cottage itself is thought to have been built in the 1830’s, but as it was never originally designed to last this long it has required a considerable amount of renovation work to make it safe for public use again.
During these renovations, the majority of the smaller collection would be packaged and stored on site within the office space next door that had converted a room into a collection store. The larger, bulkier objects would need to be carefully packaged and sent off site to a professional storage company. The students were given the opportunity to help with this packing, taking photographs of the objects so any new damage could be noted and helping to wrap the objects within acid free tissue for their later storage.
More information can be found about Mrs Smith’s Cottage at their website: https://www.mrssmithscottage.com/
Lincoln Conservation – conservation/restoration/research: http://www.lincolnconservation.co.uk/
The Knoll Programme
The Knoll is a Grade II listed building located on the Cleethorpes’ picturesque promenade. Built in 1898 by Henry Kelly, it remained a private property until 1945, when it was taken over by the city council and adapted into office spaces. Currently the property is used as the Headquarters for the AFMET of Armed Forces North East Lincolnshire. Due to growing interest in the Knoll’s history, it was decided that a restoration project would be undertaken on the original interior.
In 2019, Lincoln Conservation initiated a programme for the University of Lincoln students. The project aims to broaden the knowledge of conservation methods of research and treatment (especially wallpaper and tiling), and give the opportunity of on site-based work experience. In the first year of the programme, in which the BA3 participated, the main task was research of the site. Students carried out condition surveys, initial cleaning trials for the wallpaper and tiles and the removal of paint samples which could be used in Architectural Paint Research (a practice which allows the analysis of paint layers that have built up over consecutive historical redecoration)
