Probably the most unusual 'holiday job' in London has been undertaken by PAYE Stonework and Restoration. The Company's terra cotta specialists and masons undertook extensive repair and cleaning to the ornate Victorian buildings of Dulwich College before the school re-opened in September after the Summer vacation.

The task of cleaning and repairing the flamboyant exterior decorations to the school's New College built in 1867 and designed by Charles Barry in a style he described as 'North Italian of the Thirteenth Century', - has been technically challenging. Much of the Grade II building's embellished appearance was achieved through the extensive use of specially moulded ornate terra cotta.

Because the structure combines brickwork with terra cotta, preliminary on-site testing was carried out by PAYE technicians to ensure that safe and sympathetic cleaning processes would provide stable pH values in all the surfaces to be treated. Continuous testing was carried out during the main cleaning, to ensure that the chemical neutrality was sustained.

Once cleaning was completed, terra cotta repairs commenced. Certain sections of damaged terra cotta were removed and repaired in situ using carefully matched modern materials. The PAYE craftsmen have been able to reproduce intricate sections of mouldings, modelling the repairs onto stainless steel wires that were first resin bonded to the existing façade.

Where the deterioration was too extensive for repair, new terra cotta blocks were commissioned. These required the design and construction of complex moulds, precisely matched to the original detail. Once the new mouldings were ready, complete sections of the decorative exterior were removed and replaced.

The contract covered cleaning and repair work to the New College's North Wing and the South Cloister. PAYE experts were able to reproduce complex terra cotta designs as both repairs and replacements, and carefully clean some delicate materials. PAYE worked under the direction of Julian Harrap Architects throughout the contract, to ensure the works were maintained to a high standard.

Replacement terra cotta was supplied by Shaws of Darwen.