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Preservation, Research, Uncategorized

Paul Woodward, conservation specialist from Richard Marks Restoration Inc., carefully removes layers of modern latex paint from the portico columns.

A geological deposit? Graffiti? A fossil? Preservation initiatives in 2010 to remove layers of harmful modern paint from the columns of Drayton Hall’s porticos revealed graffiti in the form of mathematical computations. Future research will determine whether such writing is associated with Charles Drayton (d.1820) and his efforts to repair the portico in 1815. Writing in May of that year, Charles mentions that an artisan named “Schnirlecame….& took the pillar down

Graffiti discovered on the portico columns.

safe & cleverly.”  The discovered graffiti may be evidence of the calculations executed by Schnirle to correctly align and balance the new column. If true, this is the only written evidence surviving from Drayton Hall’s historic craftsmen.