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Saw a 'restored' castle wall in Wales that's clearly just modern bricks
Drove up to Conwy Castle last weekend and the repairs on the inner tower face are blatantly newer than the rest. They used smooth red brick in a section that should match the rough gray stone, and it sticks out like a sore thumb. I get that conservation costs money, but at least try to blend it with local material. How do restoration crews decide what's okay to leave visible like that? Has anyone else seen this kind of mismatch at a historical site?
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susan_adams1mo ago
Red brick on a stone castle is a classic cheap fix, crews do it when the budget runs out and they just want to fill the hole. You gotta ask the local council or CADW for the conservation plan, they usually have to document every patch. I've seen this at a few sites in Scotland, and the trick is they sometimes stain the brick with limewash or a stone-coloured slurry to knock back the brightness. If they skipped that, it's just lazy work, not a real conservation choice. The other thing is they might have done it on purpose as a "honest repair" thing, but that only works if they label it, which they never do. Next time you're there, check the mortar, if it's bright grey cement instead of lime, that's a bad sign for the old stone long term.
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