Limestone Boundary Plaque with Engraving ‘A.Halls Boundary 1902’

This limestone boundary plaque is owned by the Senior Conservation Technician for the university course, Chris Robinson. It was originally fixed on an outbuilding  at the house of his family in Louth and was made in 1902. Next door to the property was the ‘East Lincs Motors’ garage, built in the 1920’s and in 1986 the construction of a supermarket over this meant that the outbuilding pathway was blocked off, subsequently breaking the plaque which was replaced by another in the same year. The plaque was then glued back together by Chris a few years later which made it structurally strong, so the adhesive was not changed for another.

The property is located at 160, Eastgate, a location that can be dated back to 1317. There is also historical significance to whom the plaque is named after, Alfred Hall. Alfred was born in 1857 and was a miller and baker by profession, raising 3 children with his wife, Emma Saunderson. 1 of his sons, Harold, was known to have been the architect who designed a war memorial to those who lost their lives in WW1, which just so happens to be located opposite 160, Eastgate. The Hall family were well known within Louth and Lincolnshire for their milling business, Bryan Hall being the last independent miller in Lincolnshire, selling ‘Bryan Hall Crown Mills’ in 1981 for residential development. The Hall’s also owned a watermill on Ramsgate Road and several windmills, which were destroyed by fire in 1873 and 1905.

Boundary plaques or ‘markers’ in general were and still are used to show a property’s border, most notably in Church settings that will have boundary stones surrounding them.

When given to work on, the main point of treatment was the removal of the 1920’s concrete within the bevelled lettering and filling some gaps from pieces of the stone being removed after breaking.

A soft brush was used to clean the surface of the plaque, removing any loose dirt which was then picked up in an extraction fan. Extraction is used to stop any loose dirt from being picked up in the air, only for it to fall back onto the object.

To remove the cement, a Dremel drill with different attachments was used and the cement was wetted on a regular basis using water to soften it, making its removal easier. A Dremel was used as you could remove the cement with precision, meaning that it was possible to keep the bevelled edges of the letters.

Gaps in the stone previously mentioned were then filled with a mixture of different powders and adhesive to create a slurry, and there did not need to be an even application to match the shape of the stone on its surface, as it was not entirely flat.

To be able to match the colour of the limestone with the material used for the gap fills, acrylic paints were used to create a similar base colour, then dark shades were stippled on to create a dirty finish to match the rest of the stone surface.