A major conservation programme took place between 1998 and 2003 on one of Europe’s greatest medieval painted wooden ceilings at Peterborough Cathedral. Investigation and analysis were an integral part of this conservation work in the former Benedictine abbey church of Peterborough.
The knowledge gained and the discoveries made during that time, as well as the conservation programme itself, are documented and fully illustrated in a recent publication. Not just the marvellous nave ceiling, but the medieval roof structure that supported it and the transept wooden ceilings that preceded it feature in a story which spans the period from the mid 12th century into the 21st and saw many significant post-medieval interventions. Documentary history and iconography are freshly examined; structural and scientific studies (including tree-ring dating, paint analysis and environmental monitoring) afford new understanding of both the original works and later repairs.
The book documenting the conservation project has been published by MOLA for Historic England and Peterborough Cathedral.
There is an article on the Peterborough Archaeology website which summarises key points:
MOLA 2015 ISBN 978-1-907586-39-2 Hb 193pp 202 bl/wh and col ills