17th – 19th century

Client: St Michael’s Parish Church, Knill, Herefordshire

Oil on canvas paintings

Nine hatchment paintings that hang on the slopes of the ceiling in the parish church of Knill were treated together while the roof was being repaired. Leaks and damp in the old roof had caused damage to the hatchments, with one of them suffering a very large tear and loss in the canvas and paint. The hatchments were all surface cleaned and all needed some degree of consolidation to the paint layers. The one very damaged painting needed to be lined onto a second canvas for additional support and strength after carrying out repairs to the torn and damaged canvas. The lining was carried out using polyester sailcloth fabric which is a stable and durable using a synthetic conservation grade adhesive. Linings are carried out as a last resort when the canvas is too weak or damaged to support the paint layers. Often, the tacking edges of paintings become damaged and torn, and lining can be carried out just along these edges to reinforce them and allow the canvas to be re-stretched correctly onto the stretcher – this is known as strip lining.