Dr. Cassandra Crawford is an architectural conservator and specialist in historic decorative surfaces, architectural paint research, and polychromed sculpture. She founded Calibre Conservation in 2017 following more than a decade of professional conservation practice, research, and university teaching.
She studied Conservation and Restoration at the University of Lincoln, where she completed her Master's and doctoral studies. Her PhD focused on a scientific and multi-theoretical critical analysis of the polychromed Romanesque stone frieze sculpture on the west front of Lincoln Cathedral.
Between 2004 and 2010, she taught Conservation and Restoration at undergraduate and postgraduate level at the University of Lincoln, developing expertise in both conservation theory and practice. During this period, she also obtained a Postgraduate Certificate in Education.
Her research interests centre on historic paint analysis, architectural paint finishes, wall paintings, and the conservation of polychromed surfaces. As Director of Calibre Conservation, she leads projects involving decorative interiors, funerary monuments, stone sculpture, and complex historic buildings. Her work combines rigorous scientific investigation with a strong commitment to material authenticity, minimal intervention, and the preservation of cultural significance.
This presentation examines the conservation of the remarkable Erdeswicke commemorative ensemble at All Saints Church, Sandon, Staffordshire. The Grade I listed church contains a rare combination of genealogical wall paintings, funerary monument, and tomb chests associated with the antiquary Sampson Erdeswicke (c.1538–1603), author of the Survey of Staffordshire. Created during a period when genealogy and heraldry played an increasingly important role in expressing lineage, status, and identity, the ensemble represents an exceptional survival of post-Reformation commemorative culture. Conservation undertaken by Calibre Conservation provided a unique opportunity to investigate the material history of the wall paintings and monuments through condition surveys, environmental monitoring, scientific analysis, and treatment. The work revealed the significant impact of moisture ingress, soluble salts, and earlier restoration campaigns, particularly the long-term effects of twentieth-century wax-based conservation treatments. Cleaning and conservation uncovered previously obscured polychromy, gilding, heraldic details, and decorative schemes, offering new insights into the original appearance and evolution of the ensemble. The project demonstrates how conservation can function not only as a means of stabilising historic fabric but also as a powerful research tool for understanding the relationship between genealogy, antiquarianism, memory, and material culture in late Tudor and early Stuart England.
