Castle Coole basement, which opened its doors to visitors for the first time in May has been busy with the commencement of a restoration and conservation project on important artefacts in the basement.  

A number of volunteers have been busy working with specialist wood work conservator Fergus Purdy, on the project at the National Trust property in Fermanagh. The small dedicated team has been busy undertaking conservation work within key rooms of the basement.

© National Trust

A number of important items have been conserved in the basement. These include the barrel hoist in the wine barrel cellar. The barrel hoist which dates from 1790’s, is constructed from oak, iron and bronze timber. Over the years the hoist had become badly damaged by rot and old woodworm which resulted in the breaking of several of the tenon joints and one of the support braces.

Fergus Purdy undertook a cleaning and repair project of the hoist and replaced missing parts and reassembled the hoist. Volunteers participated in the cleaning and rust treatment elements of the project.

Commenting on the conservation works, Jim Chestnutt, Property Manager, said;

'We are looking forward to continuing to work on opening the basement with the local community and volunteers, without whom we could not achieve such success to date.'

© National Trust

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Other key works which were undertaken during the project to date include;

• A number of painted pine doors in the basement were conserved as part of the project. A number of surfaces were dirty with hard dust having built up over the years. The doors were cleaned using dry and wet cleaning techniques and the surfaces waxed.
  
• In the main working Kitchen a Pine Box Bottle Crate which had suffered from woodworm damage, was conserved. The bottle crate was treated with a water based woodworm fluid to eradicated from further damage.  
  
• In the Servants Hall, a number of tables and benches which had suffered rot and old woodworm have been conserved.
  
• In the Beer Cellar, three low barrel racks, were conserved. These had suffered from old woodworm damage which appears to be still active. One rack with missing and damaged cross rails. Using volunteers alongside the woodwork conservator, the surfaces were cleaned and treated with water based woodworm fluid. The damaged rails were repaired, and replace missing rails.
  
• In the Kitchen the long working bench, which dates from 1790’s was suffering from major structural damage with three of the legs and three stretcher rails missing. One leg was split along the full length with only the front face remaining. The base of other legs was damaged by damp with some loss. To repair this, the woodwork conservator dismantled the bench and removed the old repairs. The damaged legs were repaired and missing sections replaced before the bench was re –assembled and polished.

© National Trust

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• The main Kitchen Table, a large pine kitchen table with painted legs and scrubbed top has been conserved. The table surfaces which had been used for over hundreds of years, were dull and dirty. Several of the drawers missing and the base of the legs had suffered from minor rot and old woodworm damage. The table was cleaned and the legs consolidated.
  
• Also in the kitchen, an Ice Box, constructed of pine with a metal liner, which was painted and grained finish. The ice box showed signs of woodworm damage and one of the turned feet was missing. The hinges were rusted and broken and the ice box lid was stuck. Two turned knob handles were also detached. To treat the ice box, the areas of old woodworm damage were treated, the missing turned foot was replaced, handles re-glued and the surfaces were wax polished.
  
• A number of built-in cupboards & architectural woodwork in the kitchen were conserved. These had suffered from woodworm damage. Steel hinges and other iron fittings were rusted. Fergus and the volunteers removed all the fittings and fixings along with any old repairs. The cupboards were treated for woodworm, the iron fittings repaired and the cupboards waxed.
  
• Also in the kitchen, a Dough Trough was conserved. It too had suffered woodworm infestation and showed signs of much old woodworm damage. Hinges and other iron fittings were rusted, and the lid detached. The conservation work involved cleaning of all surfaces and treatment with water based woodworm fluid with all rusted fittings treated.

Castle Coole basement tours will continue until the end of September 2008. If you require any further information on the basement project, or Castle Coole, please contact the property on 028 6634 8249.