St John's Church Bath, altar rail and rood screen conservation

At the beginning of 2017 Dorothea Restorations had several members of staff working hard re-gild the Rood Screen at St John's Church in Bath. The wrought iron Rood Screen which stands at approximately 14 meters high and 6 meters wide provides a presence within the church and gives the perfect back drop for members of the congregation to be still and reflective.

After restoring the Rood screen, Dorothea Restorations were instructed to restore the altar rail which had been vandalized and was showing signs of  deterioration.  Dorothea Restorations removed the altar rail and fully restored it before re-gilding the decorative flowers, collars and post which stands in front of the Rood Screen. This project was part of Dorothea Restorations ongoing staff development with James Wynn-Haggard, spending over 300 hours gilding on both the Rood Screen and altar rail. James joined us as a trainee in 2014 having just completed an Arts degree in Bristol.   

The Rood screen and altar rail is a great example of the history of Britain being restored by the youth of today and the experts of the future.