Antique furniture at Norfolk museum put into giant freezers to stop it rotting away
Strangers’ Hall Museum in Norwich is performing its annual spring clean
Antique furniture from a Norfolk museum has had to be put on ice to stop woodworm from munching their way through.
As part of Strangers’ Hall Museums’ annual deep clean, staff have been fighting to protect the medieval merchant houses’ collection.
This has involved removing several items of furniture from the Charing Cross museum, including the great chamber’s chaise longue, for them to be put into a large freezer at Gressenhall, following evidence of suspected woodworm being identified.
Woodworm is the wood-eating larva of various species of beetle, which, once hatched, can have a devasting impact resulting in items crumbling away completely.
By freezing the items, the conservation team at Strangers’ Hall can ensure that all life stages of woodworm are eradicated without using harmful chemicals.
Bethan Holdridge, from the Norfolk Museums Service, said: “This year, as a result of the deep clean, we identified evidence of suspected woodworm and acted on this according to the guidance of our conservation team.
“This meant the removing of the items to Gressenhall for freezing to nip any latent problems in the bud.
“We will, of course, continue to monitor the situation through our regular programme of pest management so should anything flare up, we can act quickly.”
The items removed to Gressenhall include two large chairs and the chaise longue from the Great Chamber, the table and chair from the Parlour, three chairs and a stool from the Victorian Parlour and one chair from the Victorian Dining Room.
Ms Holdridge added: “Owing to the nature of historic collections and buildings we will never be able to fully eradicate the presence of woodworm but activities like the deep clean allow us to take precautions and act in a preventative way ensuring the preservation of the collections.”