Completed Tower – spot the new work!

The repairs to the beautiful tower of Blofield church are complete. After months covered in scaffolding, all was revealed.  The join between the new work and the old can hardly be seen, thanks to the skill of the bricklayers from Draper and Nichols.  It was picky, painstaking work and there was such a lot of it.  Each panel of flushwork was carefully removed and laid out in order so that the stones would fit when they were put back, rather than try to do the equivalent of a jigsaw with all the pieces almost, but not quite, the same.

On the body of the tower, there were areas of galleted flint.  Each joint has tiny shards of flint packed into the mortar, so that from a distance the face looks smooth and black, and the joints are not readily seen.  The gallets help to prevent the joints from weathering too quickly.  They are put in place then gently tapped in using a wooden mallet, or the handle end of the trowel.

All the Pellitory of the Wall was removed, quite a task as it likes Blofield very much.