In the Burghersh Chantry at the north-east end of the Cathedral stand a striking collection of large ceramics, which form part of an area for prayer and reflection. These are the work of renowned twentieth century potter Robin Welch (1936 -2019) and are an important part of the Cathedral’s twentieth century artwork collection.
Known as the ‘Gilbert Pots’, they were commissioned by the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln in 1984 to mark the 900th anniversary of the birth of St Gilbert of Sempringham. Gilbert was the founder of the Gilbertine Order, the only Englishman to found a religious order in the Middle Ages, which, unusually, housed a community of both men and women. This art installation of five large coiled and thrown ceramics represent the Order’s men, women and Gilbert himself.
During the busy 2021 Lincoln Christmas Market a cathedral visitor lost her footing in this area and toppled one of the tallest pots. This resulted in significant damage to the pot. The vergers swept up the sherds and delivered them in a barrow to the Works Department for conservation.
The significance of the ceramic meant that the decision to restore the pot was a straightforward one. However, the time and cost to do this meant the in-house team would be very stretched. Therefore, one of our regular contract conservators, Paul Wooles ACR (previously conservator on the Romanesque Frieze), was asked to undertake the work. An inspection revealed that the main body of the pot had cracked and ‘sprung’ (i.e. the tension within it causing a step), and that there were roughly 180 smaller fragments.
Paul’s first job was to repair the cracked and misaligned cylindrical ceramic body. This was undertaken with a clever technique of a timber jig. Two internal discs corresponded with external supports (which conveniently acted as a stand for the pot as well) and soft wooden wedges were gently tapped in until the step reduced. This was a delicate operation as it risked fracturing the pot further. Following this, a full ‘dry’ reconstruction was undertaken to work out the order of re-building – this avoided locking fragments out. Once the sticking sequence was determined, bonding of the fragments was undertaken with specialist adhesives. In addition to this, Paul developed a technique of small semi-circular fixings (cut from stainless steel washers) which were embedded over the dozens of break edges to provide additional robust mechanical support. The impact of the smash was such that some areas were missing; Paul expertly reconstructed these using resins, acrylic paints and sand.
Restoration took five weeks over summer 2023. On completion, discussions were had about whether to weight down the taller pots to avoid a recurrence of the accident. However, ultimately, it was decided to reconfigure the group to ensure the two top-heavy pots were less accessible. Gilbert’s missing piece was finally reunited with the rest of the group in January 2024, returning this special corner of the cathedral to its full splendour
