Welcome to Christ Church Cathedral’s

‘How Did They Do That?’ Family Trail

Christ Church has teamed up with local makers to create

a fascinating self-guided trail which explores the huge

amount of work and the many materials and methods

that were used to create the Cathedral building and its

priceless collection of artefacts.

Ever wondered how to make stone look like fur, how to

carve wood or the secret to making coloured glass?

Here’s your chance to find out, with help from the ex-

perts.

You can follow this trail in any order you like around the

Cathedral. Directions to each object can be found at the

start of each section.

Entrance

Crypt

Entrance

Baptistery

Quire

Welcome

Desk

Where to find

things...

North

Transept

Carved pulpit

South

Transept

Strongbow’s

Tomb

Chapel

of St

Laud

Stained Glass Windows

These can be found all over the Cathedral — just look up!

Stained glass windows tell stories. They were originally used to teach people who couldn’t read

about the Bible. With sunlight shining through them, casting bright colours around the Cathedral,

they provided quite a show. Almost like an early form of cinema, before films were even thought

of…

What is glass and

how is it made?

Glass is basically molten sand (silica). As

obsidian it occurs naturally in volcanos.

About 7,000 years ago people discovered

that by adding soda ash or potash and lime

to sand they could melt it themselves at a

much lower temperature.

How can you make different

coloured glass?

Coloured glass is produced by adding min-

erals or metal oxides to the glass mix. Cop-

per oxide for example gives blue and green,

and cobalt makes blue-purple. The most

expensive colour is red because you have

to add pure gold to achieve a ruby red. This

was a highly guarded secret.

How do you make a leaded stained

glass window?

To make a large stained glass window a

whole team of highly skilled craftspeople

are involved. First a sketch is drawn to de-

pict a biblical scene or a saint and coloured

in.

Then the cartoon is made, a full-size

sketch, drawn on timber or card

board, showing all the lead lines.

This is copied onto paper and then

cut out to get the patterns for all the

individual pieces of glass.

Then the glass is painted. The traditional meth-

od uses pigments mixed with gum arabic and

water. This is applied in a thin layer to the whole

surface of the glass. When dry, fine brushes are

used to reveal the glass colour underneath again

in places. This is called matting. The painted

glass is then fired in a kiln to make the colours

permanent.

Incredibly fine lines,

textures and shading

can be achieved with

this paint. Just look at

the saints – you can

almost count the hairs

in their beards!

Sometimes details are also etched. A glass piece, col-

oured on one side, is dipped into melted wax. When

the wax is hard, the areas to be etched are scraped

away on the coloured side of the glass. Then it is im-

mersed in acid which eats away the exposed glass.

To assemble all the glass pieces, long lead

channels (cames) are used. The cross section

looks like an H so the glass can slot in on each

side. The cames are draped around all the

glass pieces and cut to size. They are needed

to hold all the pieces of the puzzle in place.

Then the window is soldered together. To prepare for soldering all the

lead joints are cleaned with steel wool and then rubbed with animal fat.

This lets the solder, which is a mixture of tin and lead, flow more easily.

This is a difficult job as too much heat melts away the lead cames or

cracks the glass!

As the glass pieces have different thicknesses the window is

still wobbly after soldering and would let wind and rain

through. So finally, all the tiny spaces and gaps have to be

filled with a leaded cement and are then cleaned and pol-

ished.

The Stained Glass window

is now finished and can

be put in place!

All the windows in Christ Church, apart from one, were designed by the architect George Ed-

mund Street, when he restored the Cathedral in the 1870s. He selected three English stained

glass firms to make the windows and gave them precise guidelines to paint them in the origi-

nal thirteenth-century style.

Contribution by glass artist Gerlinde Kugler

www.gerlinde.ie

Silverware - William III Plate

Go downstairs to the crypt and find the showcase full of large candle-

sticks, bowls and plates towards the back.

This incredible collection of objects was given to the Cathedral by King William III of England

(better known as William of Orange) to celebrate his victory at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.

At this time the Cathedral also functioned as his personal chapel , when he was in Ireland, and

this amazing altar-ware would have been used on special occasions, when he was here.

These items were made using the tech-niques of

Chasing and Repoussé. These terms are often confused and not

without good reason since the two tech-

niques are often used

together

We might as well think of

slipping and sliding to realise how difficult it is to establish a

clear definition, particular to each process.

In general, repoussé is mainly a 3D or

relief method and chasing is more often a

2D or linear technique.

Another useful division is to think of repoussé as a process that creates relief without significantly altering the thickness of the starting

sheet. The metal is pushed and pulled but its thickness remains

the same. This differs from chasing where the ability of metal to

compress is used to create relief. Some areas remain at their original

height while other areas are compacted to make them lower.

Th

ese

tech

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.

This is the back of the

large plate, showing an ex-ample of repoussé. You can see how the shapes have been hammered out.

This is the right side of

the plate showing both tech-

niques.

Repoussé and chasing both require that the metal be well

anchored on a resistant

surface for working. In both

cases a material called jew-ellers pitch does the job.

It consists of three principle ingredients:

3 parts Pitch - originally a

residue derived from tree resins, but now produced from petrol .

2 parts Binder - brick dust or dry plaster are

added to give the pitch more body.

1 part Lubricant - linseed oil,

beeswax, or tallow are added to make the pitch softer.

These ingredients are blended in a pot at a low heat and stirred with a stick until

well blended. It is possible for pitch to catch fire if it gets too hot so you must

watch the pot at all times!

Remember those torches in Frankenstein movies? They were made of pitch...

Remember those torches in Frankenstein movies? They were made of pitch...

Contribution by silversmith Edward Cook

www.waylandsforge.com

Wood Carving

Make your way to the Quire in the centre of the Cathedral

Take a good look at the intricately carved stalls where the famous Christ Church Cathedral choir sing

and the impressive chair or ‘Cathedra’ where the Archbishop of Dublin sits when he is in the

Cathedral. All this carving dates from the 1870s when the Cathedral was restored.

The Craftsmen who worked

on Christ Cathedral would

have had a deep under-

standing of the materials

they were using. They

would have been appren-

ticed to a Master Wood-

carver for at least 7 years

before they qualified as

working tradesmen.

The apprentice would have

learned many things in

the workshop before he

even touched a piece of

wood - how to sharpen

tools, the properties of

wood and of course learn-

ing how to draw and read

drawings.

The study of drawing is es-

sential to woodcarving. If

you don’t have the ability

to draw a certain design,

you will probably not be

able to carve it.

Sometimes the preparatory

drawings made by wood-

carvers are works of art in

their own right.

Drawing is 2 dimensional

and woodcarving is 3 di-

mensional. To help the ap-

prentice with the under-

standing of 3 dimensions,

modeling in clay was used

for practice.

A high level of self-discipline was required

as a carver could spend anything from 8 to

10 hours a day at his bench under instruc-

tion from the Master Carver.

When searching for inspiration for their designs, woodcarvers

often looked to nature. Oak and Agapanthus leaves were par-

ticularly popular for their beautiful shapes. Fruit and flowers

also make regular appearances.

What inspired the Christ Church Carv-

ers? See how many different plants,

fruit and flowers you can spot...

Agapanthus leaves

Oak leaves

Grapes

Chisels and

gouges are the

tools used by

woodcarvers. A

carver may have

up to 300 gouges.

Tools were made

in the workshop

on demand by

the carvers them-

selves. If a partic-

ular job needed a

certain tool to get

into a difficult

area then it was

specially made. To cut wood efficient-

ly the edge of the tool

needs to be razor

sharp. This is created

by using Sharpening

Stones. Different

grades of stone are

used throughout the

process, starting with

a heavy grit stone and

finishing with a fine

stone. A leather Strop

is then used to polish

the edge.

Contribution by woodcarver James McLoughlin

www.woodcarvingireland.ie

Stonework

This can be found all over the Cathedral — the walls themselves

are built of stone!

Around 1200 when work began on Christ Church, and during several stages of later development and repair - the main building

material was .... STONE. Concrete which is a modern material had not been invented - nor any other fancy modern materials.

All the better for Christ Church as natural stone is very beautiful and lasts a long time

“Written in stone” - is a saying that means that it will be there forever

some decorative work on the capitals / arches

carved pulpit made of Mansfield

stone

HOW HEAVY would this piece of stone

be ????

1 piece of Mansfield stone measuring 1 me-

ter x 1 meter x 1 meter would weigh about

2,250 kg - { 2 - 3 tonnes }

That is about the weight of 70 children

around the age of 10!

EVERY STONE IS DIFFERENT

All stone is old - VERY OLD - it was formed when the earth first came into existence. A person who stud-

ies stone is a Geologist

Stone masons and stone carvers learnt to tell what was good about some stone - they needed stone that

did not break off in big chunks as they needed to control what they did. They didn’t want big cracks !! So

not all stone is good for carving.

Each stone has a different colour. How many colour stones can you spot in the Cathedral ??

Kilkenny Marble

Grey limestone

Caen Stone

from Normandy

Carrera Marble

from Italy

Cork Marble Dundry

Stone

Portland Stone

When the Cathedral was being built there

were no trucks no cranes, and no engines of

any type - so ALL this stone got here by using

horses , carts , ropes ,and pulley systems.

Wow!

And all the more wow was that much of it

came from England and other parts of Europe

so had to go on a boat first - a very strong

boat that would not sink. with the weight of

the stone.

The craftsmen have put their own designs on the stone , but if you

look closely you may see designs within the stone , like fossils and

marble lines ....

Feel the stone around the church and write down things you notice about the tex-

ture ,the colour, patterns etc.

TEXTURE:

Colour:

Fossils and Patterns:

HOW DID THEY DO IT ??

Humans could only carve stone once they had learnt how to make metal chisels . So when the cathedral was built, wherever there were men { yes it was just men in those days ! } carving stone there were also blacksmiths. They made the chisels and sharpened them, as well as making the horseshoes for the horses who moved all the stone around.

A stone carver starts with a large chunk of stone and begins to take away the parts he does not want using a point chisel. By hitting this chisel with a lump hammer he shocks away a part of the stone. He does this again and again and again. The skill is in knowing where to take the stone away and when to stop!

The tooth chisel is then used to even out the bumpy surface he has just created and a flat chisel to give a smoother finish. Then the painstaking process of sanding begins . Special rough stones that are abrasive { scratchy }, sandpaper and metal files are all used to smooth the stone down.

o had to move all the stone around.

THE STONE TRAIL

The Cathedral is built of stone - which is amazing in itself. Just stand in the cathedral and think about the time, sweat and tears that all the men { yes men again } used to get those heavy blocks right up to the top.

Now have a look around the Cathedral and see if you can spot the following:

1 - Capitals in the North Transept - fancy decorative stone work at the top of the arches

featuring animals, flowers and people. Some of these are the original medieval capitals.

2 - Baptistery font - look at the beautiful stone ‘intarsia’ work { inlaying of different stones

into each other }. How many kinds of marble can you find?

3 - Monument to the 19th Earl of Kildare in the South Transept - sculpted by Henry

Cheere in 1746. It was said to be his best work, largely because of its incredible textures

and details {look for the fur and wrinkled stockings...}

4- Strongbow’s tomb - carved in Kilkenny limestone

5 - Funerary monuments down in the Crypt - can you find the rather grumpy looking Lord

Bowes? This monument was once 5 metres high and stood upstairs. It is made of Carra-

ra and Kilkenny marble. Lord Bowe’s portrait was said to look very like him and the

sculptor John van Nost was paid the huge sum of £500 for it in the late 1760s.

Contribution by stonecarver Sonia Caldwell

www.kilcoestudios.com

Men working as stone masons

often worked in a stone yard

and had very specific jobs.

Some did the decorative work,

some did the more complicated

figures and others just helped

with sanding and other jobs.

Many of these men would have

been apprentices - who learnt

by doing and watching.

Medieval Floor Tiles

These can be found in the Chapel of St Laud. Later reproductions can be

found all over the Cathedral - just look at your feet!

There are two types of tiles on the cathedral floor, the original 13th century

tiles and reproductions made in the 19th century. In 1562, when the roof of the Cathedral fell in,

lots of the medieval tiles were broken. Those that survived were re-laid in the chapel of St Laud. New ones

were made to replace them from the original designs. Can you tell the difference between the two?

Here is how the red and white medieval tiles were made….

Clay was dug from the ground – it was often found in fields or river banks. Different areas gave up different coloured clays. Once dug, the clay was transported either by wheelbar-row or cart and stored in the shade outside the potter’s work-shop for about a year, to weath-er. This made the clay easier to work.

The clay was wedged (kneaded, to remove the air). Sometimes sand was mixed into the clay. This helped to stop the tiles bending or warping as they dried. Once prepared, the soft clay was shaped into a ball and then thrown into a square wood-en frame or mould.

Extra clay was cut off with a thin wire. The tile was left to stiffen in the wooden mould until it was firm but not completely dry.

The moulds were probably laid on the ground to dry, as paw and hoof marks are sometimes found pressed into medieval tiles. Christ Church is said to have its very own 13th cen-tury bird claw-print! Can you find it?

When the tile was almost dry, a wooden stamp was pressed into the tile surface and sometimes patterns were cut out with a knife.

The inlaid marks were then filled with a liquid white clay, called slip. This was left to dry until it was as firm as the rest of the tile. The surface was then carefully scraped back to reveal the con-trasting white pattern in the red clay.

The inlaid marks were then filled with a liq-uid white clay, called slip. This was left to dry until it was as firm as the rest of the tile. The surface was then carefully scraped back to reveal the contrasting white pattern in the red clay.

The tiles were dried under cover in buildings with open sides for air to circulate and turned every day to ensure they dried evenly. As the clay dried, it shrank away from the wooden frame. The frames were then removed.

After about a week of drying, the tiles would be covered in a dusting of powdered lead and placed on shelves in a kiln. This glaze caused the white clay to appear yellowish when melted onto the tile surface.

Medieval tile kiln showing floor and wall thickness.

The kiln walls were made from large stones bound together with clay. Small spyholes were left in the walls to view inside the kiln during firing.

The kiln was heated with wood. This took several days. Once the glaze became shiny inside the red-hot kiln, all the fire boxes beneath the kiln would be closed up to stop cold air getting in and the kiln left to cool down slowly. After a few days, the kiln was opened and the tiles removed, ready to be laid as a floor.

Can you find all the

different animals de-picted in the tiles?

Here are just a few...lions, birds and

foxes dressed as fri-ars. You’ll only find

the foxes in Christ Church. (Medieval

people thought it was very funny to dress

animals as humans!) Contribution by glass and ceramic artist Michael Ray

www.glitteringglass.com

Books

A selection of old books from the Cathedral Archives can be found

down in the Crypt

Before the invention of PAPER, many ancient civilisations were using a rich variety of materi-

als on which to write: they engraved stone or metal, stamped clay surfaces or carved onto

bark stripped from trees to make their mark. They also stretched animal skin to make PARCH-

MENT. Many of Christ Church’s earliest books, including the famous Liber Niger (Black Book)

are written on parchment. Later books were written on handmade PAPER.

Parchment

Parchment is a general term for an animal skin which has been pre-

pared for writing or printing. Parchment has been made for centuries,

and is usually calf, goat, or sheep skin. VELLUM - from the French

`veau` - refers to a parchment made from calf skin.

Parchment was invented in Asia in around 1500BC and was widely used in

Europe until the sixteenth century. Although methods of PAPERMAK-

ING had reached parts of Europe by the 13th century, most medieval

manuscripts were still written on parchment.

PAPER – Where does it come from?

The Beginnings of Paper Making

The earliest records of PAPER are from China, 105AD. The Chinese had al-

ready been using felted off-cuts of silk as a painting surface. This practice led

to the use of plant leaves and bark to make strong, fibrous pulps.

Papermaking was

brought from China to

Japan in the 7th century

by Buddhist monks.

The use of linen rags

and flax fibre to make

paper was introduced to

the Arabian peninsula

by armies returning

from wars in Asia in the

8th – 9th century.

Over a thousand years after its invention, pa-

permaking finally reached Europe as the first

paper mills were established in Italy and

France. The very first was at Fabriano in Ita-

ly, which began in 1276.

` Did You Know?

WASPS can be also regarded as the first real papermak-

ers or nature`s papermakers: they chew on slivers of

wood and vegetation to `make` their own pulp for lining

their nest!

Paper` - Wasps Nest Installation (`NEST` Project), 2013 – by Tunde Toth

Handmade Paper – How do

we make it today?

Paper Making Processes

Western techniques of hand pa-

permaking vary greatly but most

methods use a mesh-covered mould

and deckle which are held together and

dipped into a vat / container filled with

pulp and water.

The `screen` shapes the wet

sheet of handmade paper.

The sheet is couched onto a

board, felt or cotton sheet,

gets pressed and is hung to

let it dry.

Papermaking at KOZO Studio, Co. Kilkenny

There are a great variety of materials that are suitable for pulps. Cotton,

bamboo, abaca and other plant fibres are available from specialist suppliers.

You can also use plants you collect yourself: daffodils, grasses, rushes and

nettles.

You can also make interesting, tex-

tured, recycled handmade papers from

(good quality) left over paper and pa-

per products.

Contribution by Visual Artist and

Papermaker Tunde Toth

www.kozostudio.wordpress.com

www.tundetoth.com