Stoneworks On Historic Whalley Abbey Choir Pits Completed By Stonemasons

Online, July 26, 2012 (Newswire.com) - National stone masonry company, Stone Edge, has completed work on one of the last remaining choir pits in Britain.

Historic conservation firm, Stone Edge, has completed a building conservation project on one of the last remaining choir pits in the country.

The conservation works to Whalley Abbey Choir Pits, near Clithroe, which lasted from May until July, saw the repair and consolidation of the high and low level ruins.

The 16th century choir pits were considered to be the area of the abbey ruins in most urgent need of repair, for reasons of public safety and pending loss of historic architectural fabric.

The abbey owner, Blackburn Diocese, used the work on the Choir Pits to raise public awareness of the abbey site.

Stone masonry work included:

- Loose and missing stone masonry from the walls of the original Choir Pits being reinstated, following consolidation of the walls with lime mortar and lime mortar aggregate.

- New capping stoneworks placed over the repaired walls to prevent damage from visitors and deterioration arising naturally from water.

-Bore holes sunk into the low points of both pits to create 'soakaways' to regulate flooding.

-Stone cleaning

Steve Burke, Architect for the Choir Pits, said: "The stonemasons had an excellent attention to detail.

"When repairing medieval structures, there are always unforeseen difficulties and Stone Edge have been extremely flexible and easy to work with."

The choir pits were excavated in the 1930s, unfortunately, without much of an archaeological record.

Years of weather and visitors have taken their toll, which led to the need for Stone Edge's building conservation services to conserve the pits for future generations.

Historical importance of the Choir Pits

The choir pits, or resonating chambers, at Whalley, are a rare survival of stone masonry Britain, and may be the only fully excavated examples in the country.

The monks would have spent a considerable amount of time in the choir pits, chanting prayers from the Opus Dei or Liturgy of the Hours.

Although the work on the abbey's church began in 1330, with the first mass around 1380, the choir pits may be a later feature.

This is because the two facing rows of wooden choir stalls, which stood above them, are inscribed "WW", the initials of William of Whalley, the abbot from 1415 to 1434.

After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, in 1537, 22 of the beautifully carved stalls were re-used in St Mary's parish church, Whalley, where you can still see them today.

The misericords - the 'perching' seats for the monks - are fine examples. There would rarely, if ever, have been more than 20 monks.

Unique to the North West, three of the misericords have inscriptions. The satyr and the young woman's misericord inscription translates 'think much & speak little'.

The position of the choir in abbey churches varies, and is sometimes farther East (e.g. under the Crossing Tower), than at Whalley.

With a passion for social history, Stone Edge treats its historic building conservation and stone restoration projects with the respect and precious approach that they truly deserve.

Stone Edge delivers a comprehensive range of conservation building repairs services and natural stone masonry tailored to meet the needs of both public and private sector clients across the UK.

As a major stonemason contractor, the services include stone cleaning, stone repairs, building restoration, conservation and general stone masonry.

For more information on stone cleaning, stonemasons, stone masonry, building conservation or stoneworks more generally, visit http://www.stone-edge.co.uk.