How do we look after the collection?

First and foremost, we want to use and enjoy our collection and building for the purpose it was made. Just like at home we carefully clean our belongings and put them away safely. We look for damage and mend things as they break, whilst trying to learn what caused the damage so we can prevent it in the future.

The way we care for the Cathedral and the contents it holds falls into one of two categories:

Preventative conservation

In an ideal world, we can use monitoring and on the ground knowledge to identify problems before damage occurs. We look at factors known as ‘agents of deterioration' which include UV light levels, humidity, insect numbers, dust levels and work practices to identify problem areas. 

We can change and adapt the way we use an object or carry out routine care to reduce the risk of damage from the agents of deterioration and when it goes right we can prevent damage from happening.

Interventive conservation

We can’t control everything in life, and accidents happen. Sometimes the agents of deterioration sneak up on us – like a leak in the roof or a ladder falling against a painting – and we have intervened and conserved an object. 

Before we intervene we will consult specialists and gain permission from advisory committees. We have a philosophy of minimal intervention and it is important to us that any treatments we carry out are sensitive to the object, its context and most importantly necessary for us and future generations to continue to enjoy the object or our building.

Great or small, valuable or sentimental, all of these artworks that we care for were a gift from the people of the past to enjoy in the present. This is why we have a duty of care to use them, appreciate them and look after them as best we can so they are still there for future generations to enjoy.