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Radcliffe Camera

Careful recording, numbering and removal of incredibly fragile, ancient graffitied glass and subsequent cleaning and replacing in newly made frames in this historic building was the task. Sounds simple until you take into account the thinness (some only 1mm) and fragility of the glass and the internal stresses and warping that had happened over the years .

Graffiti is not just a recent phenomena.  Students at Oxford University, in past centuries, climbed to the topmost windows of the Radcliffe Camera to scratch their names,  initials and date in the delicate glass.  Eura Conservation had the task of gently and carefully removing this very thin  (some only 1mm thick) and fragile glass, then cleaning and replacing it in new oak frames.  Working alongside the University’s estates department and Beard Construction  a team from Eura, experienced in working with historic glass and museum artifacts, spent hour after hour gently removing ancient, rock hard putty a scrape at a time in order that the internal stresses within the glass didn’t cause breakage.  The individual panes were numbered and catalogued, individually packed and transported to our workshops to be gently cleaned and stored prior to equally careful replacement in the new frames.

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