CONSERVATION OF THE SPANISH TILE FLOOR IN THE LORD MAYOR’S CHAPEL, BRISTOL

Abstract

St Mark's Chapel was built in the early thirteenth century to serve the Hospital founded by Maurice de Gaunt; now under the care of the Bristol City Council, it is unique in being the only civil chapel in the United Kingdom. The Poyntz chapel within St Mark's was erected between 1510 and 1520 bySir Robert Poyntz and decorated in the late Perpendicular style. The founder's third son, Francis, was agent to Spain in 1527 and it is assumed that it was he who brought back the enamelled (azuleias) tiles which were used to decorate the chapel floor. The floor is laid with a mosaic of tiles made by the 'cuenca' technique (characteristic of Seville) of stamping, then filling the areas of relief with coloured glazes; the pavement is unique in Europe in both the number and the range of tiles used. The pavement has been restored at least once, in the late eighteenth century when the underlying burial vault collapsed. The tiles were relaid ,;in what is assumed to be a new pattern; several were lost at this stage and gaps were filled with local (English) ceramic tiles with armorial designs. ' In 1988, it was noticed that the pavement was suffering damage from abrasion, dirt and general physical wear. The sources of the damage appeared to be the increased number of visitors and the use of chairs' on the unprotected floor. In early 1991 the extent of the damage was recorded by Bristol Museum conservators;the rate of deterioration of the tiles had increased considerably. Problems posed 'by the conservation of' the floor were not restricted to selecting,the appropriate type of treatment; the needs of visitors to the chapel had also to' be considered. A variety of people use the chapel for worship and for academic study; St Mark's is also a popular tourist attraction which the City would like to develop further. In summary, the conflicting demands were that: