Condition Assessment: Hopperstad Stave Church and Hove Church

The National Trust of Norway in collaboration with NIKU, initiated a project to carry out a condition assessment of approximately 300 objects in Hopperstad Stave Church, Hove Church, and a storage facility located nearby the churches.

The collection in the storage facility is highly unique and possesses significant documentary and research value. It consists of fragmentarily preserved church furnishings and painted objects dating from the 17th to the 19th centuries, building components from earlier stave church structures, and several metal objects. The church furnishings were removed during earlier restorations, including the restoration undertaken by the architect Peter Andreas Blix between 1885 and 1891.

A condition assessment was carried out based on visual examination, and the registration methodology follows the Norwegian Standard NS-EN 16096:2012. In addition, the objects were labelled with identification numbers. The survey provided the required overview to make recommendations regarding prioritization for conservation, especially preventive conservation. As part of the long-term preservation and dissemination of this unique collection, storage solutions and the relocation of the objects to more suitable storage facilities were evaluated.

Furthermore, the indoor climate in both churches and the storage facility was monitored over a period of 13 months. The recorded climate data were subsequently analysed and interpreted.

The condition assessment was carried out by Edvard Undall (building heritage specialist), Kjersti M. Ellewsen (former Head of Conservation), and Stephanie Backes (painting conservator, NKF-N). Elisabeth Andersen (art historian) conducted extensive archival research and carried out art-historical and cultural-historical assessments of the collection. Christina Spaarschuh (painting conservator, NKF-N) and Joel Taylor (researcher) were responsible for the indoor climate analysis.

Project manager: Stephanie Backes.