Story of the Mosaic Floor
restoration of the ceramic floor and lobby area
In 2023, work continued at Morecambe Winter Gardens to build upon the restoration efforts in previous years that has helped bring new life to the historic building.
One of the most significant works undertaken was conservation and restoration of the ceramic mosaic floor and other works in the entrance and foyer of the Morecambe Winter Gardens by Rieveley Ceramics.
BEFORE
AFTER
The work was funded by a grant from the Pilgrim Trust, a donation from His Majesty King Charles, following a visit to the Winter Gardens in July 2022, and a crowdfunding campaign with over 179 individual donations.
The assessment and historic importance of the floor and its condition was carried out by Ceramist expert Leslie Durbin who was commissioned to produce a report. This led to a wonderful investigative trail to uncover the designers and makers and we are indebted to the Tile and Architectural Ceramic Society and its members in particular Paul Rothwell and Cynthia Church for identifying the Campbell Tile Company as the manufacturer.
History
The mosaic floor was installed when the theatre, then called the Victoria Pavilion and was built in 1897, as an enlargement and extension to the Winter Gardens that had been established earlier in 1878. It was designed by Campbell Tile Company and installed by Alfred Whitehead of Leeds. Further details can be found in Glazed Expressions, produced by the Tile and Architectural Ceramic Society.
Condition
The mosaic floor initially was in two sections, the larger interior foyer and the entrance area leading into the building from the outer pavement up to a set of three double doors leading into the foyer. The entrance, though covered, is also open to the elements through the iron gates at the front.
Following an initial assessment visit, there were two distinct phases required to fulfil the whole project, the first being the mosaic floor, the second being the tiling and sculptural faience that decorates the walls, ceilings and stairways.
Restoring the mosaic floor
Following approvals and subsequent preparations in commissioning the replacement replica tesserae etc, onsite work commenced in 2023 between 23rd of October to 24th November, carrying out the majority repairs and restoration, with a further visit on 4th and 5th December to apply the protective finishes. An initial clean to remove tapes and old adhesives from the surface was followed by the removal of the cement / concrete infills that had been used where there were large and small areas of missing tesserae, and the poor mosaic repairs that had been attempted previously.
Repairs to the subfloor were done in preparation for replacing the missing tesserae. The original tesserae that had been collected and stored along with those which came up from the floor during the work process were cleaned to remove traces of the cement mortar and grout that had initially held them in place.
The next steps
The following 3 weeks were largely taken up in replacing the mosaic in the areas that were either missing or had been lifted. The various patterns were taken by copying the designs that were on the floor and then transferring guidelines onto the subfloor upon which the reclaimed and replica tesserae were positioned.
The replica tesserae were supplied in 3 inch lengths which we subsequently divided cutting them to the required sizes and shapes. A number of different colours and shades were made to reflect the variations of the original mosaic and tesserae.
After the repairs and the mosaic tesserae were fixed the surface was cleaned to bring back the original colouring that had been dulled and obscured through over 125 years of ingrained dirt.
Work was also done to reattach and fix the large area of the mosaic that had delaminated as the ceramic mosaic lifting and separating from the cement of the subfloor was in danger of breaking up. The whole floor was grouted to further ensure the stability of both old and newly fixed tesserae.
On completion of the repairs the floor was left for 2 week to allow for the curing and the drying of residual moisture before the protective finishes were applied.
Acknowledgements: The copy above is a summary adapted from a report produced by Michael Rieveley ACR for the Morecambe Winter Gardens Preservation Trust. Photographs by Michael Rieveley, Morecambe Winter Gardens Preservation Trust and Paul White Photography.
