Magnesian Limestone Project

New research leading to better understanding of the rapid deterioration of magnesian limestone structures in northern England

Project Details

A person uses a digital camera to take pictures of a limestone wall

A member of the English Heritage team acquiring a polynomial texture map (PTM) image of the deteriorating stone surface

About

Goal

The Magnesian Limestone Project sought to better understand the rapid deterioration of magnesian limestone structures in northern England. This rapid deterioration has been a problem for over a hundred years, and while air quality in England has improved, the rate of stone loss has not slowed. Conventional treatments had not been successful and large-scale stone replacement was proposed through research on stone characterization, decay mechanism or damage process, and treatment testing.

Outcomes

  • Presentation at September 2005 UK Cathedral Architects Association meeting in York, England
  • Presentation at October 2007 meeting in York on Magnesian Limestone Conservation sponsored by English Heritage
  • Presentation at ART2008 meeting in Jerusalem
  • Presentations at Stone 2008 meeting in Torun, Poland
  • Articles in applied journals: Construction and Building Materials and Materials and Construction

Background

The rapid deterioration of magnesian limestone structures in the north of England has been a serious problem for more than one hundred years. While air quality in England has improved during this period, the rate of stone loss in these structures has not slowed. Thus far, conventional stone conservation treatments have not been successful in mitigating this decay, and large-scale stone replacement has been proposed to deal with the problem for important structures such as York Minster and the World Heritage site of Fountains Abbey.

Partners

English Heritage, Building Conservation Research Team; Princeton University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering