Castle stonework - repair trials

The original stone used to build Croft Castle is a local silt/mud stone which is made up of stone with a clay binder. Historically, this sort of stonework was often lime rendered to prevent surface cracking, caused by expansion and contraction from wet and dry weather cycles.

Remnants of lime on the surface of the building suggest that the castle may have originally been rendered. There are also previous phases of repair with replacement stone being used.

The trials currently taking place look at a new phase of repair which will involve taking the stone back to a sound base, applying trials of render, lime-based slurry coats and lime washes, as well as trialling areas of different replacement stones.

You may notice a patch work appearance on the Northeast and Southwest turrets while the render trials take place. This will only be temporary whilst we monitor them over a period of time to assess how they look and how they hold up to the elements.

The results of the trial will go on to inform a larger scheme of repair. More on that after the trials have been completed.