THE pillars at the entrance to St Mary's Church are back in their rightful place after an absence of nearly a year, suffering from the effects of time – they are estimated to be around 150 years old – and the weather, they were dismantled carefully by stonemasons of Architectural Stone in Cardiff. Since then the pillars have lain at their workshop, while decisions over their restoration were pondered on. In stone conservation, the aim is to keep as much of the original stone as possible, even if it isn't pretty, said Joe Lane, stone mason at Architectural Stone. In this they have succeeded. It was a painstaking few days erecting the pillars in their rightful place. Several readers expressed some concern at the disparity between the old and new. While this is the compromise that must be made with stone conservation, the new stone should start to weather within 12 months.