Bridget Warrington MA ACR

Books and archives may spend most of their life untouched on a shelf. Alternatively, they may be accessed and referred to regularly. Any removal of a book from its shelf or a folded parchment document from its enclosure requires flexing it to find the required page or section. Whether this is regular or infrequent access, the object turns from static to dynamic, needing to open and flex. Having to adjust a book to different openings or the parchment document to a flat, viewable item, puts certain strains on any binding and substrate material, so understanding the care and preservation of books and archives is key to their longevity.

I am an accredited library and archive conservator based near Leyburn in North Yorkshire with extensive experience of both remedial conservation projects and preventive conservation. I initially trained as a bookbinder in 2005 and then continued my training and work placements in book and archives conservation in Cambridge.

I now run an independent conservation studio in Wensleydale and carry out interventive conservation on books, manuscripts and archives. I combine this work with supporting heritage institutions in all aspects of preventive conservation, including collection condition surveys, environmental monitoring, storage updates, exhibitions, advanced preparation for emergencies and developing overarching preservation policies.

Biography

Bridget Warrington MA ACR

Having trained as a bookbinder at the London College of Printing, I started my conservation career in 2005 working for the Churchill Archive Centre at Churchill College in Cambridge.

In 2013 I moved to the Cambridge Colleges’ Conservation Consortium based at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, initially as Book and Manuscript Conservator and then in 2014 taking on the lead role as Head of Conservation. 

In 2018 I set up my own conservation studio in Girton, Cambridge and then in 2021 moved the studio to the Yorkshire Dales.

Client testimonials

Bridget was recommended to me, and after initial discussions she prepared a proposal to carry out the necessary work on two books from the collection. Bridget was duly commissioned to do this, and the results have been excellent. My colleagues and I have been most impressed by the breadth of Bridget’s knowledge in this highly specialised field, her meticulous attention to detail and the skill she has demonstrated in achieving the desired outcomes. We were kept informed of the progress at all stages through a series of illustrated reports, which now form part of our Library archive.

Brian Stagg
Custos, Trigge Library, St Wulfram’s Church, Grantham

We have used Bridget for several projects since she became independent. One particularly challenging project is a donor-funded, high-specification conservation of a volume of 16^th century inventories which was bound in a vellum wallet-with-tab-and-slit style cover. The cover has shrunk, and the volume needed rebinding. A lot of thought has been done on how much to preserve the look and feel of the original. Of course, we will retain the original cover, but Bridget has suggested some measures that will best serve the object while also retaining its ancient character.

Patricia McGuire
Archivist, King’s College, Cambridge

Bridget’s expertise helped shape our National Manuscript Conservation Trust manuscript project Saving Norfolk’s Medieval Manuscripts, Norwich Castle: Gateway to Medieval England. Her contacts for analysis helped apply a sound scientific approach to the treatment methodology which have also fed into wider research projects. Bridget provided options for our project team to consider. Her progress reports and explanations when we were unsure or unconvinced about a certain method or procedure were incredibly helpful. I really appreciate her patience and the time she gave on this. Bridget’s project management and organisation skills are faultless.

Debbie Harris ACR
Senior Conservator, Norfolk Museums Service