The solution was to lay the Portland Stone as a beam and block construction. Large reinforced concrete strip foundations were used to span the graves and burial vaults, thus spreading the load and supporting the sleeper walls under the beams. The stone was then laid with the expansion joints exactly over the underlying joints to avoid the stone cracking. Once the stone was laid, the Architect following advise from Albion Stone decided not to seal the stone floor as the foot traffic would eventually hone the stone and seal the surface naturally.
The project was completed in September 1999 and a rededication service held by the Bishop of Portsmouth took place in October 1999 with all the project team members in attendance.
Peter Harrison of the Harrison Young Partnership commented “we are extremely pleased with the finished project. The mixture of Portland stones on the floor has given texture and light to what could otherwise have been a bland expanse and has unified the interior of the church reflecting its mediaeval qualities. The advice and assistance given by Albion Stone was invaluable. The whole project team worked very hard to achieve the results we see today and to overcome problems such as burial vaults and brick sided graves in the existing church floor, we are all extremely pleased with the finished result it looks very nice indeed”. He added, “since the completion of the project nearly a year ago the floor is still very striking. We took the advice of Bryan Adams the Production Director at Albion Stone and decided not to seal the stone. It has aged beautifully and now has a fine polished surface and has appeared to seal itself”. |
