- Location
- Bibury, Gloucestershire
- Service
- Stone Restoration
- Stone
- New dressed stone pieced into the existing surround
- Scope
- Eroded surround and jamb stones cut out and replaced; opening made structural again
The problem
Cotswold limestone weathers, and around an opening that weathering matters more than it does in the middle of a wall — the stone framing a window is carrying load. At The Swan in Bibury, the surround had eroded and broken back, with the jamb and head no longer sound.
What we did
The failed stone was cut out and new dressed stone pieced in to match the existing profile, restoring the opening so the building is structural again. The new work reads brighter than the old for now — Cotswold stone weathers in, and within a few seasons it will settle into the elevation.
The result
In Jackson's own words, the repair made "the building structural again" — which is the point of restoration work on a building like this. It is not cosmetic; the window is holding the wall up.