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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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."
Insurance
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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Devotion to heritage ironwork is recognised by unique award
For 35 years Chris Topp – along with his colleagues – has devoted his time to increasing his and others’ expertise in the preservation and restoration of the heritage of ancient iron.
Chris’s interest in traditional blacksmithing skills began in 1967 when he had a summer job in Bolton that was within walking distance of the Atlas Forge. At that time, Atlas Forge manufactured puddled wrought iron, as well as re-rolling wrought-iron axles.
Furniture makes its way across the sea
This summer saw West Country-based Fullers Finer Furniture complete a number of deliveries across the water in Northern Ireland. The first was to the Salvation Army’s new premises in Larne, County Antrim – just a short distance from the ferry port. The order was placed following introductions at the Christian Resources Exhibition in Manchester. It was for the company’s trademark York lectern, a Holiness Table and, more unusually, three flag stands.
The furniture was completed in a natural oak finish. The York lectern was fitted with a mic socket and tablet lip, ready to facilitate the latest technology. The lectern bears the Salvation Army crest, hand-crafted in a complementary wood.
St Bart’s goes digital
The parish church of St Bartholomew in Horley, a parish covering Horley town and Gatwick Airport, is a Grade One-listed building, mainly of 14th century origin, although a church has been on the site since the middle of the 12th century.
The building was significantly restored in the early 1880s, with the south aisle added in the early 1900s. Its most notable external feature is its narrow wood-shingled bell turret and spire. More recently, in 1991, two upper rooms were added next to the bell tower which are used for Sunday children’s work, prayer groups and meetings.
Secondary glazing provides divine solution for church windows
Feature windows have played a crucial role in church architecture throughout the ages, with shapes and styles changing to fit the trends of the times. Works of art in themselves, they contribute to a church’s majesty, and the ambience they create adds an extra dimension to the experience of worship within.
These often centuries-old features hold us in awe, and the fact that they still stand intact is incredible in itself. Time does take its toll, however, and churches have to find ways of protecting and preserving their windows. Secondary glazing can play an important role in this.
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.
Starting in April
1. The Annual Parochial Church Meeting will normally be held in April. At this meeting the churchwardens will present the report on the state of the building and of the progress of any necessary work. Will a fundraising effort be necessary this year to pay for building repairs? The parish meeting is a good time to plan this.
2. If there has been a change of churchwarden at the annual meeting, the outgoing churchwardens should run through the duties with the new ones.
3. Respond to the Articles of Enquiry sent by the archdeacon prior to the visitation. 4. The spring clean that was planned in February can take place in April. Ensure all areas of the church are cleaned but remember that old furnishings, monuments, floors and windows may be damaged by cleaning and that no chemicals should be used on them. For advice on how to clean such things, search the Conservation pages on this site for the particular item or contact your DAC Secretary.
5. Ask the bell captain to check the bells and ringing chamber are in good order and that the steps and ladders in the tower are safe.
6. Tidy the churchyard and start to cut the grass if necessary.
Full calendar in inset thanks to Church Care. For further information visit Advice and guidance for church buildings
Church’s new heating ticks all the boxes
Trinity Church North Finchley was formed in 1980 by the coming together of two churches in North Finchley in North London. During the latter half of the 1970s the relationship between North Finchley United Reformed Church (formerly North Finchley Congregational Church) and North Finchley Baptist Church went from strength to strength, and it was decided to recommend that the two churches should unite to form a single church.
Click here to read the full story.
Replacement flagpole for St Edmund's Church, Southwold
Harrison Flagpoles had to design, manufacture and install a replacement flagpole for the top of the 100 ft tower on St Edmund’s Church in Southwold without disturbing the existing lead lined roof and incorporating the church’s own weather vane.
Click here to read the full story.
Brian’s gilt-edged brushwork adds lustre to commissions both sacred and temporal
Pretty much all of us will have passed by commercial properties or visited premises with exquisite signage and wondered at the craftsmanship involved in their creation. In particular, if the work involved gilding the artistry is all the more admirable.
Click here to read the full story.
Secondary glazing provides divine solution for church windows
Feature windows have played a crucial role in church architecture throughout the ages, with shapes and styles changing to fit the trends of the times. Works of art in themselves, they contribute to a church’s majesty, and the ambience they create adds an extra dimension to the experience of worship within.
Click here to read the full story.
‘Made to Order’ radius gutter from Rainclear - true cast or mitred
Sometimes you need to replace a radius gutter (guttering that follows the shape of a circular roofline) on a conservation or renovation project and it needs to be ‘like for like’. The original pattern for ‘sand casting’ of that specific Cast Iron radius gutter may be long gone, but we can use the pieces you still have to create new ‘patterns’ and cast new matching radius gutters for you. This is known as a ‘True Cast’ Radius Gutter.
Thames-side lions roar again
Last year saw the opportunity taken to restore historic bronze mooring points on the Thames Embankment between Westminster and Blackfriars bridges. The work was carried out by Dorothea Restorations and included repair of decorative bronze lions.
Most of the lions had suffered some kind of impact damage, ranging from surface dents to sectional loss or complete loss, where components had fallen into the river. Dorothea Restorations cast some new sections; however nearly all of the components were able to be repaired.
Van Gogh’s London home takes on new life
In August 1873, Vincent van Gogh – then 20 years old – took lodgings at 87 Hackford Road in south west London. Although he was only a tenant there for one year, his time at Hackford Road left a lasting legacy that the house’s current owners seek to celebrate today.
Following a meticulous conservation project that was completed last spring, the Van Gogh House has been brought back to life and hosts a dynamic programme of events, anchored in the artist’s practice and local heritage.
Walking in the footsteps of giants
Masons’ marks high up on pillars at medieval cathedrals and churches tell the story of the master masons who crossed the whole country – and, indeed, the continent of Europe – to oversee the building of those masterpieces of the builder’s art.
Later, the 18th and 19th centuries saw Methodist ministers and non-conformist preachers treading the same paths as they spread the word of the new ministries.
Cathedral’s development plan boosted by Wolfson grant
The development plan for Exeter Cathedral has received a major boost in the form of a £400,000 award from the Wolfson Foundation. Launched in 2020 with The Prince of Wales as Patron, the appeal aims to raise funds for a programme of heritage conservation, building work and improvements.
The award is the latest in a series of good news stories for the cathedral’s development effort, which includes the construction of a new cloister to replace one torn down during the Civil War more than 400 years ago. Plans for that design by architects Acanthus Clews (pictured below) were approved by Exeter City Council just before Christmas. Earlier last year the project was awarded development funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Drones lead the flight towards zero carbon
One of the emerging benefits of using UAVs for survey works is their contribution to sustainability and carbon reduction.
The national Environmental Working Group of the Church of England has issued a Call to Action on the Climate, calling on all parts of the church to aim towards zero carbon emissions by 2050, in line with Government and EU policy. The group is formulating a motion for General Synod to that effect.
Ealing Green Church gets new AV system as part of refurbishment programme
Newtech Southern was awarded the contract to design and install a new audio visual system for Ealing Green Church, West London. The church was to undergo a complete refurbishment and as part of these works a new high quality sound and video system was required.
The church required multiple floorboxes each with a variety of audio / video inputs and outputs, these would allow for the system to accommodate all types of services and events to be held in the church.
Conservation of the nave ceiling at Ely Cathedral
The magnificent painted timber ceiling in the nave of Ely Cathedral was painted between 1858 and 1862 by Henry Styleman le Strange, a gentleman artist from Hunstanton and completed, following his death, by Thomas Gambier Parry.
Repair work to the fabric of the nave was begun in January 1987, for which a suspended scaffold was inserted below the ceiling. This provided the opportunity for a programme of inspections, analysis and conservation work to be undertaken to the magnificent painted timber ceiling.
Conservation and relocation of the Richard III statue at Leicester Cathedral
Following an initial condition survey, Hirst Conservation were honoured to be invited to undertake the conservation and relocation of the Richard III statue as part of a £2.5M project to regenerate Leicester cathedral gardens.
Prior to treatment, the statue was removed from its previous location and transferred to the company's studios in Lincolnshire. Treatment included Doff cleaning of the plinth and poultice cleaning to remove more intransigent stains.
Help! Does my oast cowl need cleaning?
Since 1937, Dude and Arnette have been cleaning oast houses across the country, both inside and out. The company’s specialist team can clean, paint and maintain your oast house to the highest standard, bringing joy to many more generations. So, if your oast house is looking a little drab and dated, maybe it is time to give it a clean. Here DARREN HOLE of Dude and Arnette answers some common questions.
New roof restores brutalist masterpiece – and rectifies design flaw
A major roofing and cladding project – using traditional mastic asphalt and leadwork – was carried out over the whole of last year at St Antony’s College, Oxford, by leading industry experts SPV Group. The project, at the Hilda Besse Building, was completed as part of a larger scale refurbishment project – working in conjunction with CBRE Construction.
Completed in 1970 by John Partridge, the Hilda Besse Building sits at the heart of the college and houses many of the college’s key social spaces, including the dining hall, common rooms and buttery, as well as private dining facilities and kitchen. It is a Grade Two-listed building and is said to be one of the finest examples of post-war brutalist architecture. The building won the RIBA Architecture Award and Concrete Society Award in 1971 – noted for its skilful application of concrete in a modern interpretation of a traditional hall.
Asphalt repairs at St Hugh's Monastery
St Hugh’s Monastery was experiencing water ingress into its cloister area as a result of damage and cracks in the northeast asphalt balcony roof above the cloisters. Asphalt repairs were undertaken to the balcony roof and the repaired section was painted with solar reflective paint.
St Hugh’s Monastery is a Grade II listed building and is an example of the heritage work Sussex Asphalte undertakes that requires appropriate project management. In the case of St Hugh’s Monastery, the company's operatives also had to be sensitive to the monks living on-site who live a life of solitude. This required careful liaison with the client.
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