Roofers in line to be made kings of the castle

When tenders were being submitted for the restoration of Lowther Castle in Cumbria, it made sense when considering the roofing contract to approach the only company in the county on the NFRC’s National Heritage Roofing Contractor Register – Cumbria Roofing North West Ltd.

In fact all three companies bidding for the project did just that and when Patton Construction from Ballymena in Ireland was awarded the contract it was Cumbria Roofing they employed.

When the project started in May 2011, the first works were to make the roof structure safe so the Westmoreland slate could be removed. That was completed in late June, allowing the joinery works to begin.

Kevin Musson of Cumbria Roofing takes up the story: “Starting on the east range section and moving round the horseshoe structure, we moved on to the east quadrant roof. As you can see [from the pictures], this roof was not straightforward as every slate had to be dress and cut at an angle to allow the slate to fit.”

After the clock tower, which was pretty straightforward, they moved on to the west quadrant. That was the same as the east: slow work. However, with a hard winter behind them they progressed to the west range.

Kevin continues: “The joiners are making steady headway with the turrets: 22 in all – code 8 lead. We have arms like steel but on we go.”

Next is the sculpture gallery roof, with all the shoring work to the ornate plaster ceiling done. Some of the sheet lead has been stolen.

“A sign of the times,” remarked Kevin, “but it saved us some work and luckily there was no damage to the ceiling.”

By late July last year all the leadwork on the sculpture gallery roof was completed and the final touches added to the parapet gutters on the west and east range roofs.

By late November there was just the ornate lead rainwater goods to replace, which arrived on site from the company’s workshop were they had been overhauled and repaired – just in time for everyone to enjoy Christmas with the job done.

Not only was it ‘job done’, but done to such a high standard it has been shortlisted in the Heritage category of the 2013 Roofing Awards. The winner will be announced at a ceremony on 17th May at the Hilton Metropole in London.

For more information visit www.cumbriaroofing.co.uk