The National Trust’s conservation team at Stourhead, near Mere in Wiltshire, have completed a week of preventive work caring for objects inside the Pantheon, an iconic building within Stourhead’s world-famous landscape garden.

The Pantheon, also known as the Temple of the Gods, houses many historic artefacts, including the famous marble Hercules by sculptor Michael Rysbrack, a 2,000-year-old statue of Roman empress Livia Augusta, eight delicate friezes by Benjamin Carter, wrought iron gates by Benjamin Smith and a set of four benches designed specifically for the Pantheon by the architect Henry Flitcroft in c1760.
Each of the collection items come under threat from what conservators call the ‘10 agents of deterioration.’ These are light levels, wear and tear, chemicals, pests, water, fire, humidity levels, temperature, loss, and custodial neglect. This is the second large-scale conservation temple clean of the year.
Peta Henley, Collections and House Officer, said “There are steps we take to manage deterioration over time. Each of the Pantheon’s items are meticulously checked, delicately cleaned, and all findings recorded on a condition report.”
Collection conservation, both built and natural, sits at the heart of Stourhead’s ethos, and the NT’s preventive conservation work can often be seen first-hand. This clean-up was more than a quick whip round with a duster, as Peta explained.
“Within the Pantheon we have varied materials that require a certain type of cleaning and care. To clean the marble statues, we use a coarse bristle brush made of hogs hair that helps to flick the dust into a vacuum. For the delicate friezes we use a soft ponyhair brush, with the vacuums on a low suction and gauze over the nozzle; this prevents anything being accidentally vacuumed into the machine. For the metal gates and benches, we use a hogs bristle brush and Renaissance wax, which protects them from further deterioration.
“The four Pantheon oak benches are cleaned with a combination of brushes as they are both robust and delicate.”
Find out more about NT collections at www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk.
To find out more about visiting Stourhead go to www.nationaltrust.org.uk/stourhead.