Leaderboard Banners

Ecclesiastical & Heritage World JTC Roofing Contractors Ltd

Ecclesiastical & Heritage World Nimrod

Current Issue

Ecclesistical & Heritage World No.98

Heritage Roofing

Heritage roofing - maintaining our iconic buildings

The UK is home to some of the most iconic buildings in the world, from stunning churches and cathedrals to historic stately homes. Each and every one of these remarkable feats of architecture requires regular maintenance to ensure they remain in the very best condition, allowing them to be enjoyed for generations.

Read More...

Cathedral Care

Restoration and upkeep of cathedrals

There are some 42 Anglican cathedrals in the UK, not to mention 20 or so Catholic cathedrals. Cathedrals form the most important collection of historic buildings in England. The largest and most ancient are internationally famous, the smallest are usually among the most significant buildings in their region and even the most recent are architectural masterpieces.

Read More...

Master Craftsmen

Championing our heritage with modern craftsmanship

Twenty years ago, English Heritage (now Historic England) published its first-ever Register of Buildings at Risk across England, which featured nearly 2,000 buildings and monuments that were ‘neglected, broken and unloved’. Recently Historic England was delighted to announce that over two-thirds of those buildings were now safe, in both urban and rural areas right across the country.

Read More...

Traditional Lime

Lime: it’s better for buildings – and for the environment

It is now fairly well known that cement is not good for old buildings and that lime mortar should be used. But why? What are the advantages and what are the disadvantages? In order to begin to answer those questions it is necessary to understand the nature of traditional building, the process by which buildings used to be built, and how it differs from modern construction, the process by which we build today.

Read More...

Audio Visual

Audio visual equipment in church buildings

This guidance is issued by the Church Buildings Council under section 55(1)(d) of the Dioceses, Mission and Pastoral Measure 2007. As it is statutory guidance, it must be considered with great care. The standards of good practice set out in the guidance should not be departed from unless the departure is justified by reasons that are spelled out clearly, logically and convincingly.

Read More...

Ecclesiastical & Heritage World Scanaudio
Inspire

CRE Events

After the Midlands, onward to Milton Keynes

"CRE Midlands reminded me of the giddy days when it first began – the venue was packed with exhibitors and visitors and there was a busy atmosphere. The whole thing looked great."

Read More...

Insurance

Church Insurance | Ecclesiastical

Church insurance risk

You need to ensure that reasonable precautions are in place at your church to keep it safe for those who use it. To do this, you need to think about what might cause harm to people.

You will then need to decide if the precautions already in place are adequate. If they are not, you may need to identify further action to prevent any danger. When done formally, this is known as a risk assessment.

Read More...

Church Maintenance

Church maintenance and repair: Calendar of Care

Just as prevention is always better than cure, maintenance is preferable to major repairs. But, such repairs may not always be avoidable. Church Care offers a monthly guide in our coming issues Starting in Spring

We can help you understand the common problems and areas that need your special attention, and give you tips for regular maintenance schemes.

Read More...

Pest Control

Michael Palin warns of pest threat to churches

Michael Palin is supporting the future of the UK’s historic churches and chapels with a voiceover for a new animated film. The 80 second animation, produced for the National Churches Trust, highlights why churches are some of the nation’s best loved buildings.

Read More...

Town Halls

The history of the great Victorian Town Halls of Northern England

From industrial squalor to civic pride, the story behind some of the most impressive buildings of the North involve a unique mix of economics, grand designs and noble sentiments within communities.

Read More...

Lead Roofing

The benefits of lead roofing

Lead is one of the oldest materials in the roofing industry and is still commonly used throughout the world today.

Lead roofing is a traditional roofing method which has been used in the industry for hundreds of years, and is therefore proven to be extremely reliable. Lead roofing, and sand-cast lead, in particular is ideal for old buildings such as churches or historical renovations, whereas milled lead roofing is a mass-produced alternative, used for precision and accuracy in homes and commercial buildings alike.

Read More...

Lightning Protection

When lightning strikes are you protected against this act of God?

The issue of lightning protection in churches is one that has exercised this publication for many years. In this four-part series of spotlights on the issue we will be revisiting various aspects of the subject, beginning with an overview of current thinking.

Read More...

SEARCH OUR DIRECTORY

Reset
Or click to browse our selection of categories

These Aces help combat theft and vandalism at churches

Ace Defences picChurches sit at the centre of many communities and theft of lead from the roof or vandalism to the fabric of the building or churchyard causes more than physical damage. The intrusion into the community – and the cost of remedying the resulting harm – can be costly. The cost of making repairs to a church roof can be high and may well have an adverse effect on the general maintenance budget, as well as increasing insurance premiums.

Read more ...

Memorial gun restored as tribute to VC’s valour

In the centre of Chepstow in Monmouthshire, sited next to the town’s War Memorial, is a second memorial that commemorates the bravery of local seaman William Charles Williams at the Battle of Gallipoli during World War One. The memorial is a captured gun from the German U-boat UB91 and was donated to the town by King George V in Williams’s memory.

William Charles Williams VC was born in September 1880 in Shropshire and raised in Chepstow. He became an Able Seaman in 1901 and was commended for bravery during the Second Boer War whilst serving on board HMS Terrible off the coast of South Africa, and later during the Boxer Uprising in China.

Read more ...

Residential conversion is a Roofing Award contender

One of the shortlisted projects in the Lead Roofing category of the 2020 Roofing Awards was a listed residential property at 53 Barton Mill Road in the historic centre of Canterbury.

The Barton Mill complex was the only surviving medieval mill in the city of Canterbury, but it was damaged by fire early this century. 53 Barton Mill Road is a mid-terrace property: timber framed with later 18th-century red brick and stone elevations under a Kent peg tile roof. The building was used as offices for the mill complex and converted to a dwelling in 2005.

Read more ...

Desert memorial merits its place on shortlist

It is unusual for the shortlist of the Roofing Awards to contain an overseas project, but the inclusion of the El Alamein War Cemetery in the Reinforced Bitumen Membranes category of the 2020 Awards was an honourable exception. The reroofing project was carried out by The Complete Roofing Company (TCRC) and will be carried over to the combined 2020/21 awards with the other shortlisted entries.

The El Alamein War Cemetery is the largest Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) cemetery in Egypt. Unveiled in 1954 by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, the cemetery contains more than 7,200 Commonwealth burials from World War Two, of which more than 800 are unidentified.

Read more ...

Families praise poignant memorial sculpture by Derbyshire craftsmen

All Steel Fabrications, a Derbyshire company that builds steel sculptures, has been praised for a ‘deeply moving’ memorial built to mark the centenary of one of Britain’s worst wartime civilian disasters.

The explosion in July 1918, at the National Shell Filling Factory in Chilwell, Nottinghamshire claimed 134 lives. The remains of the victims rest in the graveyard of St Mary’s in Attenborough and the church wanted to pay tribute to the courage of those who worked at the factory by commissioning a new memorial.

Read more ...

Have an extra 5% off all cast aluminium ranges this October

Rainclear Systems, the UK’s leading stockist and online retailer of metal rainwater systems are offering an extra 5% off all their Cast Aluminium rainwater Ranges in October 2020.

Traditional cast aluminium is manufactured in the UK and sits at the upper end of the price range for metal guttering - More expensive than our extruded aluminium and galvanised steel ranges and more or less equal, depending on the project, to the cost of pre-painted cast iron - It is strong and long lasting and best suited to quality, traditional style projects.

Read more ...

Get the skills and certification you need to build your career...

Working with roofing federations, roofing training groups, manufacturers and employers from across the industry NCTS can offer a variety of comprehensive training courses designed to fit with your needs, no matter your level of skill.

Read more ...

All Things are now Bright and Beautiful for church

0n8550A North Tyneside church is looking forward to safely welcoming back its parishoners after COVID-19 restrictions meant that all acts of worship had to be done remotely or online.

To facilitate the return, St John's Church in Killingworth Village has undergone a top to bottom deep clean and bizarrely, the business who won the work has a number of connections with the church - not least the fact that their name is incorporated in one of the world's most well known hymns.

Read more ...

Non-standard products from Hargreaves Foundry and Rainclear

0n8557Rainclear Systems, the UK’s leading stockist and online retailer of metal rainwater will work with Hargreaves, a working foundry with its own pattern making shop and dedicated design team, on your behalf to produce non-standard cast iron rainwater components to replicate existing perished components to replace like-for-like but brand new to last another 100 years +.

Heritage properties often contain atypical building shapes and designs. If your building has non-standard specifications, we can help source and supply guttering with non-standard angles or special configurations.

Read more ...

Fine craftsmanship lead roofing by Sussex Leadcraft Ltd

0n7598

0n7602

Reigate Priory School is set in the beautiful surroundings of Priory Park and is a historic Grade 1 listed building. It dates back to 1235 when William de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey, founded Reigate Priory for the Order of St Augustinian whose monks resided there for 300 years before the dissolution of the monasteries during the English Reformation.

The Priory played a further role in history being owned by the Howard family. The daughter, Catherine, became the fifth wife of Henry VIII at 19. She was the last one to be executed two years after the marriage.

Pictured above are details of the fine craftsmanship lead roofing by Sussex Leadcraft Ltd using Code 6,7,8,9, and 10 lead.

Pictured left is the sloping roof at Laughton Manor using Code 6 lead - another example of the craftsmanship of Sussex Leadwork.

The company has the highest achievable grade in the Lead Contractors Association.

For further information contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Video technology rollout to help risk management surveys

0n8562Ecclesiastical Insurance is launching desk based video inspections to customers following investment in new technology.

The video streaming function, developed by long-time collaborators RiskSolved, allows a real-time view of the client’s property, providing a higher quality of desk based surveys.

Read more ...

Fine leadwork graces award-winning extension

For the new roof of a restaurant extension to the Grade One-listed Gravetye Manor in West Sussex, Matthew Marchant of M Marchant Specialist Lead Roofing Contractors Ltd used Code 6 lead throughout.

The roofing project was shortlisted in last year’s Murdoch Awards, while the new restaurant won a Mid Sussex Design Award – the commercial category of the 2019 Sussex Heritage Trust awards – and was a finalist in the 2019 SECBE Constructing Excellence Awards.

Read more ...

Refurbishment restores Nottingham Castle Rock to its former glory

1r2bCI2Nottingham Castle Rock is an ancient monument surrounding several areas of the world-famous Nottingham Castle. Originally constructed in 1068, time has seen the structure and its encompassing roads, caves and tunnels, be subject to ruin and deterioration.

Read more ...

Historic Tunstall Town Hall given a new lease of life and set to reopen

G F Tomlinson Tunstall Town HallStoke-on-Trent City Council has completed works on the historic, local building Tunstall Town Hall, which was built in 1885.

The city council have been revamping the Town Hall, alongside contractor and developer G F Tomlinson, since April 2020 to uncover, repair and preserve some of the original heritage features. 

Read more ...

London calling for award-winning York Handmade Brick

0n8581The completion of the prestigious Lancer Square development in the heart of London marks a decade of York Handmade Brick’s involvement in reshaping the look of England’s capital city.

During the past 10 years York Handmade, one of the leading independent brickmakers in the UK, has provided the bricks for some of London’s most stunning new buildings.

Read more ...

Memorial cleaning reveals need for further work

0n7629The work of cleaning and restoring the country’s war memorials has carried on throughout the past year, despite the restrictions of the pandemic. Hertfordshire-based P&S Property Management have carried out a number of cleaning projects, including that of the memorial at Shorne in Kent (pictured right and below), at the Church of St Peter and St Paul in the village.

P&S were asked to provide a quotation in early November for a deep clean: the memorial had not been cleaned since 2010. The clean was carried out on 24 March and revealed further work that needs to be carried out.

Director Henry Perales explained: “After a deep clean we usually expose any necessary repairs like re-grouting or repainting the letters. We met with the client and pointed out the exposed problems and will arrange for a quotation so the repairs can be carried out.”

The company also completed the clean back in October of the Croxley Green War Memorial in Hertfordshire (below), in preparation for Remembrance Sunday commemorations. They have subsequently provided a quote for the repainting of the lettering.

Similarly, the cleaning of the memorial at Hockley Heath, Solihull, in early November exposed the need to have the letters repainted.

For further information visit www.pandsproperty.co.uk

Skilled craftsmen create bespoke tributes for churches around the British Isles

0n7635Portsmouth, England 2019

In January 2019 Fullers Finer Furniture received a call from a client in the USA. Her mission was to secure a bespoke lectern for a church in Portsmouth attended by her mother, in memory of her father.

The design brief was for a solid wood, fixed-height lectern bearing a memorial plaque. Working within the proposed budget, a design was drawn up and tweaked to achieve the exact result required.

Fullers always take care to ensure that only the best quality woods are selected for use. Each piece is carefully fashioned in the workshop, maximising skill and experience built up over many years to ensure the finished piece is not just an item of beauty, but is also robust and sturdy, fit to serve with timeless grace for many years to come.

Fullers always welcome feedback and photographs of the furniture in situ. In this case the client wrote: “I am writing to thank you all for the help you gave us in getting the perfect lectern for St. Cuthbert's and to let you know it was very well received by both the members of the congregation and clergy at St. Cuthbert’s.

“The wood is a perfect match to the base of the custom font and the design is just what they wanted, as it is light enough to be moved around depending upon what event is going on in the church at the time…it was dedicated on Remembrance Sunday, which was very fitting.”

0n76340n7633Polwarth, Scotland 2020

Polwarth Parish Church lies adjacent to the Union Canal. It is part of an exciting project aimed at running a canal boat from Polwarth Pontoon with a view to benefitting the local community in a variety of ways.

The church received a legacy to be used specifically for the provision of a piece of furniture for the transept area, to display information relating to the canal project. In January 2020 Fullers Finer Furniture were approached in connection with the unique project.

The finished cabinet includes a display area protected behind locking glass sliding doors and a surface area to accommodate the folders and other material relating to the canal project. The multi-function unit also contains two double locking cupboards, a drawer to store wrapping paper and a pull-out desk for use by the floristry team.

Mounted on wheels and finished in natural oak, the cabinet bears arches on the cupboard doors to complement those in the building.

The finishing touch is a brass memorial plaque dedicated to the precious memory of the church member behind the donation.

The client commented: “I am so pleased that I found your advert, it was such a pleasure to work with you.”

0n7632Donaghcloney, Northern Ireland 2021

Across the water to Northern Ireland, and this time a request for a baptismal font in memory of a very special infant. The font was made in European oak and supplied with a hand-made glass bowl decorated with a thread pattern to match the church décor. In this case the inscription was carved around the outside of the bowl around the top of the font.

For further information visit www.fullersfinerfurniture.co.uk

VISIT OUR ASSOCIATED SITES