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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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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."

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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Work will take place to conserve Birmingham Cathedral’s world-famous Burne-Jones windows!

Birmingham Cathedral has been awarded over £640,000 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to support an extensive programme of conservation work to the cathedral’s remarkable stained-glass windows.

The project, known as Divine Beauty, has been made possible by National Lottery players, and an award of £641,200 from by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

As well as extensive conservation work, an exciting programme of activity and engagement is planned over the next 2 years at the cathedral.

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Historic metalwork specialists repair the Maclagan Crozier

When the Crozier head on Lichfield Cathedral's Maclagan Crozier had broken away from the central stem, as a result of the screw thread being overtightened, the cathedral's treasurer appointed Shropshire-based Historic Metalwork Conservation Company (HMCC Ltd) to carry out the repair.

The company provide conservation advice to all those charged with the care, management and preservation of historic metalwork in all its various forms, but with a particular emphasis on historic ironwork.

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Szerelmey restore Grade One-listed columns at St John's College, Oxford

0n7107Szerelmey was appointed alongside Beard Construction and working with Wright and Wright Architects to carry out extensive repair, restoration and replacement work to the Grade I listed Laudian Library extension in the Canterbury Quadrangle. This follows on from the successful delivery of a new package of works creating a new library and study centre, artwork walls and interior and exterior paving – completed by Szerelmey in 2019. The Canterbury Quadrangle is one of the most famous, historic and beautiful of Oxford’s buildings.

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Wells Cathedral awarded a £578k grant by National Lottery Heritage Fund to implement major project

Wells Cathedral in Somerset has received initial support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for its ‘Vicars’ Close: A Medieval Street Singing Through the Centuries’ project. Made possible by National Lottery players, the project aims to make a number of the historic properties on Vicars’ Close in Wells accessible to the public for the first time, to better share their rich history. The project will also conserve the unique architectural heritage of the Close, the oldest continuously inhabited medieval street in Europe.

Development funding of £577,562 has been awarded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund to help Wells Cathedral progress their plans to apply for a full National Lottery grant at a later date.

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Weldon stone give a guide to natural stone

Looking for some useful tips on natural stone? There are obviously a wide variety depending on what its end use is.

Peter Dunn of Weldon Stone gives some examples with technical specifications and images of the products they have available. You can choose from everything from paving stone to stone for fine carving, from window sills to copings, from lime stone to headstones.

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20th Anniversary success for ISCVEx 2022

Xv3ZTt6Wednesday, March 23rd 2022, the Institute of Sound, Communications and Visual Engineers winds up its 20th Anniversary ISCVEx event at Coombe Abbey Hotel and Country Park near Coventry.

Held annually by the Institute of Sound, Communications and Visual Engineers, ISCVEx is open to members and non-members and is a mixed programme including a manufacturers and distributors exhibition, networking and seminars events. 

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Shedding some light on the new Part L Building Regulations

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A major part of the UK’s commitment to meeting its targets for carbon reduction is being driven by a tightening of the Building Regulations surrounding energy efficiency standards for homes. Here, Stella Rooflight Director, Paul Trace, addresses the new rules for rooflights and thermal performance including why they are needed. 

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Creating light beautifully with Clement Conservation Rooflights – the best for energy efficiency and more

0n7176Whether you are looking to renovate a period property, update your home or office, or transform a new space, creating the right amount of interior light is always a major consideration and a rooflight can often be crucial in enabling daylight to flood into a lower level room, an attic or even a peculiarly shaped corner.

Clement Conservation Rooflights have been awarded an A+ window energy rating by the British Fenestration Rating Council (BFRC), the premier UK authority for independently verified ratings of energy efficient windows and doors. However, this is not the only benefit you receive when you choose one of our rooflights.

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A fabulous new space created for this much loved theatre

0n7178The Progressive Players were founded in 1920. In 1939, founding members Ruth, Sylvia and Hope Dodds generously provided the money to purchase a vacant site facing Saltwell Park, together with adjoining No.3 Saltwell View, and build the Players’ own theatre.

The Little Theatre is believed to be the only playhouse built in Britain during World War II and to this day it remains Gatehead’s one theatre. It opened with a performance of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ in October 1943 and since then the site has remained home to the Progressive Players who now produce ten plays a year.

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Athlone House scoops brace of roofing awards

0n7181When the Pitched Roofing Awards were announced on 26 November, one outstanding project won both the Best Use of a Heritage Roof and Best Use of Concrete Clay Tiles for a Domestic Project categories. That project was the reroofing of Athlone House in North London using tiles produced by traditional manufacturer Dreadnought – whose pedigree in clay tile production dates from 1805.

Standing on high ground just beyond the northern edge of North London’s Hampstead Heath, within the Highgate Conservation Area, over its 150-year history Athlone House has been used as a private dwelling, a secret RAF school during WWII and more recently an NHS home for people with dementia. 

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ISCVE appoints new president and vice president

ISCVE Logo CMYK 300dpiAt its recent Members’ Day and AGM, the Institute of Sound, Communications and Visual Engineers (ISCVE) announced the appointment of its new president and vice-president.

Neil Voce, MInstSCVE, Sales Director for Ambient System, was appointed as the new president, for a term of three years, taking over from Helen Goddard FInstSCVE, while Jim Smith FInstSCVE was appointed vice president.

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Kentec’s new K-Mesh wireless technology wins praise for Chester Cathedral project

0n7199K-Mesh, a next-generation wireless fire detection technology from Kentec Electronics, a leading manufacturer of life-critical control solutions, is winning deserved praise from the installer of a new system protecting the historic Chester Cathedral.

Brad Parker, founder of Charles Thomas Heritage Fire Protection, was tasked with specifying and upgrading the wireless fire detection system previously installed in the Cathedral. The thick walls and lead-lined roofs and the other challenges that come with a building that can trace its roots back to 1093, meant Brad had to think outside the box.

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Ecclesiastical Insurance Group becomes Benefact Group

The new name and brand identity marks an ambitious new chapter for the charitable owned Group and its family of specialist businesses.

Owned by a registered charity, Benefact Trust, Benefact Group gives all its available profits to good causes. The new name better reflects the Group’s diversity, breadth and purpose – it derives from Latin and means to do well by supporting a person or good cause.

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Spending a legacy on a sound system – what to upgrade?

Recently Blaydon Communications were contacted by a local church who had kindly been left a legacy and needed some advice. The sound system in the church had not been touched for many years so it was decided that a beneficial use for the money would be to upgrade the sound system. Conflicting online advice and sheer options for hardware had proved overwhelming, so it was time to draft in some professional help. The company's managing director Paul Dougherty takes up the story.

Our initial visit to the church was mainly a fact-finding mission to determine what the expectations of the church was from the proposed system. Once we knew what was expected we could work back through the technicalities of achieving the desired outcome without having to ask any technical questions to the church. Using this approach requires no technical knowledge from the end users and reinforces the fact that all we are interested in is making sure the system does it needs to when it is finished.

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Restoration work at St Philip and St James Church, Whitton

When the fabric of the building at St Philip and St James Church, Whitton in Twickenham began to fail, Minerva Building Restoration Ltd were appointed to assess the general condition of this 1862 built church. The main brief was to accompany the client to determine the worst affected areas and ultimately produce detailed stone repair schedules and costs for consideration.

As with many churches, the issue of invalidating insurance policies with scaffolding in place meant that combination of scaffolding and cherry picker access was required to reach the works at high level.

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Scanaudio provide induction loop at Temple Farm

Temple Farm is a new 84-acre UK headquarters for the International Bible Students Association (IBSA) located near Chelmsford, Essex. The site has up to 1,000 volunteer workers per day alongside a small number of outside sub-contractors and is professionally managed and run by the organisation.

To provide equal access to sound for people with hearing loss and fulfil the requirements of IEC 60118-4 in a multipurpose auditorium, the Jehovah’s Witnesses organisation approached assistive listening system manufacturer Ampetronic to help.

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Don’t neglect your heating system

MellorMottram picWith news of the lifting of COVID restrictions in England and Scotland at least, churches are looking forward to returning to some kind of normality. It is still winter, however, and the church heating system will be shouldering its normal load – possibly after being on a frost-free setting for some time. It’s time for some maintenance.

In some cases maintenance is a legal obligation, such as in the case of oil tanks. The regulations governing the storage of oil are the control of Pollution (Oil Storage) Regulations for England, Scotland and Wales respectively.

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