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Festive phone call takes church on the route to virtual services

0n7874 In December last year, Blaydon Communications got a phone call they were not expecting. A member of the PCC at St Bede’s Church in South Tyneside called and asked if they could urgently upgrade the church’s sound system in anticipation of the festive events that were to be held in the church. The team at Blaydon were a little surprised as their installation work had been a bit thin on the ground during lockdown and they had been focussing a lot of effort on their online presence and having virtual meetings. The chance to get out was gratefully received as they were totally ‘Zoomed out’ at that point!

Stained glass restoration helps bring 17th century manor house back to former glory

Breakspear House is a truly magnificent 17th century Grade I-listed manor house, which has undergone a detailed restoration.

Formerly the Breakspear family estate in the 13th century and home to W.S Gilbert by the end of the 19th century, it was then acquired commercially in 1956 as a retirement home. Sadly by 1987 it lay abandoned, derelict and vandalised.

Historic lantern now lights the way to a healthy lifestyle

0n7797 The ‘Ye Olde Wine Shoppe’ building in the centre of Swansea is now a Holland & Barrett store. The building has been undergoing refurbishment works, undertaken by QI Refurb and Contracts Ltd based in Telford. They contracted Historic Metalwork Conservation Company, initially to carry out a condition report on the decorative lantern suspended outside the front of the store, along with recommendations for its repair. The necessary repairs were approved by the local conservation officer, so the client, Holland & Barrett, instructed the works to be carried out.

Stonemasons add to converted property’s features

A stone building in the Yorkshire Dales National Park showcases the expertise of Manchester-based James Stone Masonry.

The property had originally been built for keeping livestock and at some time in the 1970s had been transformed into a house. Now it is again being modernised to an exceptionally high standard.

Renaissance Dutch glass is protected from the 21st century

St Clement’s Church is at the centre of Outwell village in the Fens on the Norfolk-Cambridgeshire border. It has been described as a treasure-house of unique medieval sculptures and beautiful stained glass.

In the east elevation of the Lady Chapel, or Beaupré Chapel, is a large transom window with a large tracery of 24 lights containing highly-detailed and technicoloured stained glass representations of saints – both local and international – heraldry and decorative motifs.

Beautiful abbey sensitively preserved with EB20 steel windows

0n7745 Mount Saint Bernard Abbey opened in 1844 after a donation from John, the 16th Earl of Shrewsbury, enabled a permanent monastery to be built to replace the original building. The most famous architect of the Gothic Revival, Augustus Welby Pugin, offered his services for free and designed the beautiful building which still stands today.

Naturally this was an incredibly sensitive project for Clement. The Listed Building is of great architectural significance and the fact that we would be replacing metal windows, some of which were over 170 years old, meant a great deal of planning and thought went into deciding the correct specification.

Ancient and modern: technology and craftsmanship come together to create ‘splendid balcony’

A large, cantilevered balcony is an exacting thing to build, particularly in stone, so when specialist surveyors Smith & Garratt were given the task of enhancing the galleries in the south wing of Marchmont House, an A-listed Palladian mansion in the Scottish Borders – to provide visitors with an outdoor dining space and to improve access to the west garden – they were keen to explain how it was achieved. This is their account of the build.

Our solution was a 10’ x 30’ balcony providing room for three tables of eight, accessed on the level from the main gallery through three pairs of French windows, with broad sweeping steps down to a garden terrace. Smith & Garratt designed, obtained consents for, and delivered this splendid balcony.

Heritage charities celebrate share of £1million fund

0n7752 Nine heritage charities have received donations of £1,000 each as part of Ecclesiastical Insurance Group’s Movement for Good awards.

For the third year running, Ecclesiastical Insurance Group is giving away £1million to charities through its Movement for Good awards. Members of the public were invited to nominate causes close to their hearts, with 500 awards of £1,000 available for donation.

ISCVE announces launch of Voice Alarm Standards

0n7860 The Institute of Sound, Communications and Visual Engineers (ISCVE) is pleased to announce the launch of its Voice Alarm Standards manifesto. The new manifesto has been borne out of research carried out by the Institute following a detailed questionnaire of more than 100 international companies working within the voice alarm sector.

There are currently no laws requiring voice alarm systems to be installed anywhere in the UK. Fire detection in general must be ‘appropriate’ but this isn’t defined. A licensing authority can insist on a voice alarm system as part of the planning permission requirements, but mainly the take-up is ‘where it makes sense.’

Wolverton Hall: The only Folly is to call it a Folly

0n7767 A folly; an ornamental building with no practical purpose built in a large garden. Whilst aspects of this definition can be applied to describe Wolverton Hall Folly, it certainly contradicts the ‘practical purpose’ element with the most appealing of purposes. Wolverton Hall Folly is a retreat for contemplation, an office away from home, a place to entertain and somewhere to enjoy the views, sun and a good book. Can we therefore call this beautiful building a folly?

Constructed in an octagonal design, the exquisite architecture was the vision of owner Nicholas Coleridge and his wife, who took inspiration from the 16th Century banqueting house at Long Melford in Suffolk.

Horizon help to restore Nottingham Council House clock

Horizon Specialist Contracting’s Steeplejack division were recently contracted to help undertake the repairs and restoring of the Nottingham Council House clock for the first time in 25 years.

Standing at 42.7m a team of three Steeplejack engineers over a period of three weeks abseiled from the roof of Nottingham’s Council House to replace sections of steel on the clock face which had rusted and rotten over the years.

Materials Matter - BIM Version 4: A decade of the most advanced BIM Brick files

0n7769 Responding rapidly to the Government’s Construction Strategy published in May 2011, Michelmersh responded with its first range of clay product files and was the first brick manufacturer to introduce Building Information Modelling (BIM) files in the UK, years before the competition.

A decade on and Michelmersh is now delighted to release BIM Version 4 (V4), its most advanced files yet. It is the only manufacturer to include Revit 2021 files to take advantage of the newest release capabilities, including its advanced rendering features, enabling customers to download the highest resolution brick walls on the market.

Visitors behaving badly: 91% of heritage attractions suffer challenging behaviour during Covid-19

0n7875 As many heritage attractions prepare to reopen on 17 May, research commissioned by specialist heritage insurer, Ecclesiastical, has revealed nine in 10 (91%) heritage attractions in the UK have experienced challenging behaviour from visitors since Covid-19.

Since the first lockdown in March 2020, Britain’s museums, art galleries, theatres, stately homes and castles have had to cope with difficult behaviour as visitors have refused to follow social distancing (33%), refused to wear masks in designated areas (31%) and have not followed instructions (26%).

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