Holy Cross

As mechanisation took off in the industrial revolution so did casting of ornament inside and outside of buildings. Tastes for earlier styles of ornament also took off and decoration became more varied and more widely available to developers. Classical ornament and rococo had had their time and now victorian tastes wanted to revisit an earlier time which they regarded as more romantic. Gothic ornament was revived under the terms gothic revival and neo gothic. This ceiling repaired is impersonating an Elizabethan ceiling with floral enriched mouldings and hanging pendants, typical of the Elizabethan era. The ceiling was in very good condition with only 1 localised repair necessary, the culprit being a leaky toilet on the floor above. The water travelling through the ceiling had left weak and friable plaster with a blistered surface. The area to be repaired was marked out and the corresponding parts of the pattern nearby were prepared for taking a squeeze from. Squeeze moulds were named as such because they were once made using clay. A tray of clay would be pushed onto the ornament before being removed. Casting plaster was then poured into the clay negative waste mould. When the casting plaster had set and given time to dry, the clay could be peeled away revealing the cast. Silicone rubber is now used for taking squeeze moulds as it is more durable and can be used for multiple casts unlike the clay.