Tintern Abbey conservation works by Cadw have begun

Cadw, the Welsh Government's historic environment service, has announced that the first phase of conservation works to the chapels at the iconic Tintern Abbey, located in the village of Tintern in Monmouthshire, has begun as of Saturday, August 31.

Gwilym Hughes, sead of Cadw, said: “For nearly 900 years the abbey has been welcoming worshippers, wealthy patrons and visitors to this tranquil location, and once again it requires some attention.

Conservation work on Tintern Abbey have begun. (Image: Welsh Government)

"It’s fantastic to see this work beginning so generations to come can enjoy this iconic historic site.”

Cadw appointed Ferrier Hart Thomas and David Odgers Conservation to survey, give design information, and set out in detail the works stonemasons need to carry out.

The survey, according to a spokesperson for the Welsh Government, took almost a year to complete and included archaeological investigation of the floors within the church and directly outside its walls.

Tintern Abbey is widely-regarded as one of Cadw’s finest monuments with its ancient ruins standing on the banks of the River Wye. 

Tintern Abbey in Tintern, Monmouthshire (Image: File)

Cadw’s specialist masons have worked on the Abbey for the last forty years, to conserve it for future generations. 

Many campaigns have been set up to address the deterioration of the stone due to hotter summers and wetter winters, as well as original stones being put in the wrong way.

Conservation works

The process of conservation has been detailed by Cadw.

Conservation works include brushing off loose and flaking stonework to expose underlying surfaces that are in good shape, a process which has recently been the focus of the BBC history programme, Digging for Britain.

Loose mortar will then be removed from the joints and vegetation carefully picked out so no roots are left.

Fragile stones will be brought together using a weak, lime-rich mortar before they are pinned together and then back to the surrounding masonry.

The old copper straps – originally designed to hold the stones in place – have decayed, according to Cadw, so they are scheduled to be removed once the new pins are in place.

The masons will wrap the completed work in wetted hessian material in an attempt to control the drying out of the new mortar.

A timeline has been given by Cadw for the conservation works.