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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.
CRE Events
CRE South West postponed to next year, but Sandown Park gallops on
With the ban on large public gatherings likely to be in place for the foreseeable future, CRE has announced that the much-anticipated CRE South West in Exeter has had to be postponed until 23-24 February next year.
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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Stained Glass
A brief history of stained glass
The origins of the first stained glass windows are lost in history. The technique probably came from jewelry making, cloisonné and mosaics. Stained glass windows as we know them, seemed to arise when substantial church building began.
By the 10th century, depictions of Christ and biblical scenes were found in French and German churches and decorative designs found in England.
Back Issues
War Memorials
War Memorials Trust works to protect and conserve war memorials in the UK. The charity provides free advice to anyone as well as running grant schemes to support repair and conservation projects. You can find a range of resources on the website http://www.warmemorials.org/ to help you engage with our unique war memorial heritage. The Trust is a charity so if you support our work please consider making a donation.
Painting and Decorating
Redecorating listed buildings and places of worship
If you are thinking of redecorating the interior of your listed building or place of worship seek the advice of your architect or surveyor as implications of redecoration can be far reaching. There may well be technical aspects that need to be addressed before decoration can be carried out successfully. Redecoration can also have a major impact on the appearance of your building, including the way it looks and feels for worship.
Scottish Heritage
£240,000 boost for communities as Scottish heritage projects awarded funding
Funding to provide training opportunities and the restoration of historic structures will benefit local communities and economies throughout Scotland.
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.
Think Brick
Proven reliability over the centuries - and annual awards are back
Brick is one of our oldest building materials and its use dates back to the beginning of civilisation.
The Brick Development Association represents the United Kingdom and Ireland’s clay brick and paver industries and promotes the contribution that brick makes to the places and spaces we live and work in today. Their role is to ensure clay brick and pavers are recognised as the material of choice by architects, engineers, planners, specifiers, developers, landscapers, builders and property owners.
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.
Church Lighting
Light up your place of worship
The design of a lighting scheme and the light fittings themselves can have a positive impact on the way your building looks as well as being functional.
Live Streaming
Why live stream is now mainstream
The restrictions around the COVID-19 pandemic have led to many churches venturing into the online world in a much more comprehensive way than before. While most churches have had some kind of online presence and the Church of England has it’s a Church Near You site, the live streaming of services has become much more common. And modern AV equipment is perfectly suited to communicating via the internet.
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Builder who believes Actis Hybrid should be a legal requirement refurbishes scout hut
A Stroud builder who believes Actis Hybrid products should be a legal requirement in all reroofing and new build projects will be making life more comfortable for his local scout troop thanks to a donation from the insulation specialist.
Mike Nicholls, who runs a construction firm specialising in period property refurbishments including listed buildings, mill and barn conversions, is a huge fan of the range. And when his local scout group could cope no longer with the damp, dingy, cold back room in their converted farriers’ Cotswold stone building, he offered to step in and help them out.
New internal lighting completed at St Margaret's Church, Betley
St Margaret’s Church is a Grade I listed building situated within the beautiful village of Betley. With its wide and varied history, St Margaret’s has been through many changes over its existence. CLS Electrical Services Ltd were proudly asked to provide a lighting design and full specification which included the replacement of internal electrical distribution equipment.
Installation work was completed successfully in September 2020 and provided a new DALI controlled LED lighting system which will reduce the ongoing maintenance issues and lower the electricity consumption within the church. Provisions were also made to allow future installation of additional exterior lighting which shall be carried out once faculty approval is granted. Existing distribution boards were replaced bringing the complete electrical system up to date with current regulations.
For further information visit www.churchlightingsystems.com
St Mary's Church, Funtington gets new internal lighting and external renovation
CLS Electrical Services Ltd were commissioned to design and install a new lighting system at St. Mary’s Church in Funtington. They removed the existing tungsten light fittings and associated cabling, along with the banks of light switches that were used to control the original lighting. All of this was replaced with a new DALI controlled lighting scheme with simple to use controls.
A timeclock built within the system operates chosen light fittings during the daytime allowing enough light for visitors to walk around safely. The work carried out also included renovation of the external lighting as well as installing additional socket outlets within the church. The existing distribution equipment was also replaced and decluttered bringing everything up to date.
Safe use of church heating systems
The average Anglican church is a tricky place to heat. This guidance from insurers Ecclesiastical provides advice on the safe and efficient use of various church heating systems.
Churches usually have large internal spaces, high ceilings and, putting the more modern churches to one side for the moment, the construction of its doors and leaded windows will make it difficult to insulate. A well-maintained heating system is important – which means conducting a number of checks throughout the year. Furthermore, from an insurance perspective, heating systems create several risks of their own, of which trustees need to be aware.
Restoration of St Oswald's Church, Grasmere
St Oswald’s Church stands on the banks of the River Rothay in the centre of Grasmere and is a Grade I listed building that dates from 1250AD. Up until the 1890s the church was rendered in lime. At that time the lime render was removed, and the pointing raked out. This was replaced with a cementitious strap pointing which caused severe damp, so further action was required. To try and solve the damp, in 1921 the church was encased in a cementitious pebble dash render.
Easy-to-use streaming solution reaches the COVID congregation
St Pauls Weston Super Mare is the largest church in the Diocese of Bath and Wells apart from the cathedrals. It normally has a big, vibrant congregation and has strong links with the community.
When COVID restrictions meant they could only house a fraction of their normal congregation, they approached APi Sound and Visual to create a streaming solution. Craig the minister had recommended APi to the church as they had recently installed a comprehensive sound and visual system into his previous church in Ilminster. APi’s managing director ANDY PIDSLEY takes up the story.
Gowercroft Joinery wins top woodworking award for Winston Churchill’s former home
High quality timber window and door specialist Gowercroft Joinery has received one of the woodworking industry’s highest national accolades for its part in the restoration of Templeton House, Sir Winston Churchill’s former home in Roehampton.
Gowercroft saw off stiff competition from other joinery companies, to win the British Woodworking Federation’s ‘Woodworking Project of the Year’ award, which recognises the very best in design, innovation, application and ability in joinery manufacture along with craftsmanship and technical excellence.
Heritage railway’s new facilities showcase brick specialism
Opened in 1862, Bridgnorth is the working terminus of the Severn Valley Railway (SVR) – a popular heritage steam railway.
Lying within the Bridgnorth Conservation Area and overlooked by Pan Pudding Hill – a scheduled ancient monument – the site is a highly significant heritage asset and all key original buildings still remain. The main station building is Grade Two-listed, and since 1979 had been served by a ‘temporary’ Portakabin refreshment room, which has detracted from the setting of the listed station.
Ancient building material still has many uses
One of the universal building materials prior to the end of the 19th century was lime. Lime was present in various forms in almost every building, from limewash on the walls of cattle byres and cottages to the mortar used on cathedral and castle walls.
According to the British Lime Association (BLA), lime was burnt as early as the 4th century BC, when it was first used as a building material. Today, the universal term ‘lime’ includes quicklime, hydrated lime, milk of lime and dolomitic lime.
Ecclesiastical launches pilot to put 18th century Kenwood House on a technological par with The Shard
Specialist insurer Ecclesiastical is working with English Heritage to pilot cutting edge technology to monitor and manage building services at 18th century Kenwood House.
In the first scheme of its kind, Ecclesiastical and English Heritage, in partnership with technology firm Shepherd, are piloting sensors to monitor Kenwood, the former home of William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, located on the edge of Hampstead Heath in London. The sensors - which are battery-operated and do not require Wi-Fi - discreetly monitor environmental changes within the building.
Lighting developments have evolved into new LED product ranges
Over recent years, West Midlands-based Lighting Dynamics UK has continued to develop as one of the UK’s premier companies specialising in the interior and exterior lighting of cathedrals, churches and other places of worship, across all Christian denominations.
York Handmade plays pivotal role in stunning North Yorkshire development
The award-winning York Handmade Brick Company has played a significant role in a stunning new North Yorkshire residential development.
The Easingwold-based firm, one of the leading independent brick-makers in the country, supplied specially-manufactured bricks for a state-of-the art barn development at Manor Ridge Barns, Slingsby, near Helmsley.
Heritage Cast Aluminium Beaded Deep Run stocked in textured black
In response to a growth in orders for this 115x75mm (4.5x3") deeper profile, Rainclear, the UK’s leading stockist and online retailer of metal rainwater, roofline and drainage systems are adding it to stock, for next day delivery, in the popular textured black colour.
An ideal solution for properties that require a rainwater system with extra volume/rainwater flow capacity. This traditional cast aluminium beaded half round profile gutter is made deeper - for a greater flow capacity and is already available in 7 standard RAL textured colours or 25 standard Matt RAL colours in 15 days.
A warm church gives a warm welcome!
That is the message to church managers from Essex-based Argonaut Heating Ltd, a company with over 40 years experience in the industrial and commercial heating sector.
Specialising in church heating systems, they can provide cost-effective and efficient design, installation, repair and maintenance services and understand the problems involved in heating churches, community centres, halls and other places of worship.
A guide to church av systems by MPB Sound and Light
The purpose of this article is to help churches through the process of exploring the options for church av systems, and drawing up a specification to send out for quotations.
We have a dedicated article about choosing the right wireless microphones for you and we also have two free online courses for anyone new to sound systems written with churches in mind.
Leaded light restoration at 15th century Yelford Manor
The tranquil rural hamlet of Yelford, 13 miles from Oxford city centre, is one of the smallest in Oxfordshire, yet, according to Pevsner, boasts ‘the best and certainly the most picturesque large timber-framed house in the county’. That house is the wonderfully atmospheric, Grade II listed, late-15th-century Yelford Manor.
Bowman’s Stained Glass was awarded the contract in 2010, for full restoration of over 100 Leaded Lights.
Tour guides and training are the keys to special needs heritage access
The findings of the research commissioned by Ecclesiastical into the experience of parents of children with special needs resonates with our own extensive work in this sector.
Hull-based About Access Ltd have considerable experience of assessing the accessibility of museums, stately homes, churches and other buildings of historic interest, taking an inclusive approach to a sector which is growing in popularity and significance.
