The Old Mortality Sculptural Group stands just inside the formal gatehouse (now Visitor Center) of Laurel Hill Cemetery. The sculptural group has become a symbol of the Cemetery, which was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1998.  Set within a Gothic Revival structure designed by John Notman, the sculptural group consists of the brownstone figure of Sir Walter Scott gazing at the sandstone figure of Robert Paterson (a.k.a. Old Mortality) a character in Scott’s novel of the same name.  Old Mortality’s pony, also carved from brownstone, stands behind him.  On a wood pedestal at the rear of the group was a plaster self portrait bust of the artist, James Thom.  The shelter and sculptures had become severely deteriorated, primarily as the result of rising damp, inadequate ventilation, and a defunct drainage system.

In 2006 and 2009, the Cemetery Company retained Kreilick Conservation, LLC for a two-phase conservation project of the Old Mortality Sculptural Group.  Kreilick Conservation worked with multiple sub-contractors to complete the project.  The first phase (2006-2007) involved diverting as much moisture as possible from around the perimeter of the historic shelter by removing unstable stucco from the shelter walls and installing a new permeable drainage system around its exterior.  The second phase of the project (2009-2010) included stabilizing and conserving the stone sculptures, consolidating and replicating the plaster bust, fabricating and installing new roof elements, re-stuccoing the interior walls of the shelter, and installing a new drainage system within the shelter. This project won a Grand Jury Award from the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia and a Construction Project Award from Preservation Pennsylvania, both in 2011.