The monumental Christ in Majesty in the monks' refectory at Worcester cathedral (now the assembly hall of the King's School), was initially carved in the early thirteenth century, enlarged and augmented in the late fourteenth, damaged and covered in the sixteenth, uncovered in the nineteenth, neglected in the twentieth and conserved and re-presented in the twenty first.
Unanimously regarded as work of the highest quality and art historical significance, the Christ retains tantalising and beautiful remnants of carved draperies and polychrome schemes from both thirteenth and fourteenth century phases.
The sculpture stonework and its polychrome surface layers were cleaned, investigated, recorded, stabilised and consolidated. Unsightly cement work was removed and careful mortar repairs and repointing inserted. A major project, involving experts from many disciplines, is now in hand to re-present and interpret this sculptural array to a wider public.
Christ in Majesty, Worcester Cathedral
The enormous sculptural array depicting the Christ in Majesty in the monks' refectory at Worcester cathedral (now the assembly hall of the King's School), uncovered by workmen from beneath layers of later plaster in 1872, remained virtually untouched until this year.
Our project involved investigation, analysis, practical conservation and outreach, in the form of public lectures, conferences and consultation with specialists from a variety of disciplines.