Historic Churches 2018

38 BCD SPECIAL REPORT ON HISTORIC CHURCHES 25 TH ANNUAL EDITION to use when repairing material from each time-period. This technique was particularly useful for informing the repair works undertaken on Urnes stave church. CONSERVING URNES Before the most recent repair works began, it was well-known that Urnes stave church was suffering from severe subsidence and structural instability, a problem that had been ongoing for many years. It was by no means the only church with this issue; at the time of The Stave Church Preservation Programme’s inception, several others were also suffering with structural problems. In the case of Urnes, the existing foundations were in extremely poor condition. Investigation revealed that the cause was not poor drainage but the quality of the stone originally used to construct them. The conservation team and The Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage were faced with two options: either to consolidate the existing foundations in situ, or to carefully elevate the north side of the building and re-lay the footings to their original level. The first option was discounted as it could not be certain that it would provide a long term solution to the subsidence problem. According to Sjur Mehlum, Project Manager of The Stave Church Preservation Programme from 2007 to 2015, re-laying of the foundations was a very tricky process that involved the careful dismantling of the building’s interior to enable the removal of the church floor. This was made all the more difficult with the existence of the northern portal, one of Norway’s most important pieces of art, which was being placed under significant stress by the building’s unbalanced load-bearing system. The imbalance, caused directly by the subsidence, could have had a devastating effect on the church if left unattended, eventually resulting in irreversible damage to its structure. The stabilisation of the building also served to protect it from further decay to the material around its foundations. Rot to the sill beam of the north wall and other original medieval material were observed, but not repaired as the decay was relatively superficial and the building’s load-bearing capabilities were not affected. Once elevated to their original position the timbers would be dry making further decay unlikely. In most cases, repair works were needed to the roofs of the stave churches as a result of timber decay following leaks, but in the case of Urnes its roof was still in a reasonable condition and no significant repairs were required. Once the new foundations had been laid, the floor was replaced and the church interior carefully reassembled. Works to the foundations of Urnes stave church were completed in 2010. However, this wasn’t the last of the issues that needed tending to. Urnes stave church subsidence and the northern wall carvings are visible during the 19th century (Photo: Axel Lindahl) Urnes stave church’s poor quality foundations in 2009 (Photo: Sjur Mehlum) and, below, a detail of the same wall showing the ‘Urnes-style’ carvings after the repair of its foundations (Photo: Lene Buskoven)