With Mansfield Traquair’s varied history of neglect, it was only to be expected that the murals would suffer. When the Trust took over the building, cracks and loose plaster were rife, and the beautiful images covered in dirt and cobwebs.
In 2003, a restoration project was launched, led by Fiona Allardyce of Historic Scotland’s Conservation Centre. The momentous job would involve students from all over Europe, beside Historic Scotland and the Trust, and would reach completion in 2005.
The south chapel was the first section to undergo the attempts at restoration, as it loosely resembled a miniature version of the larger building, and meant that the team could confront and address the problems that would be posed by the larger building early on.
Over the years, damp had penetrated the walls, damaging the murals and rendering them discoloured and dark – an impression not aided by the layers of dust. The first step was to vacuum the undamaged areas, and then the various types of dirt – including oily residue and bird excrement amongst others, could be removed using appropriate substances applied by cotton wool swabs.
The original plaster was coming loose in areas, and so was vacuumed out through small holes in the murals, and replaced with a mixture of grout and marble dust, injected into the walls with a thick lime mortar.
