Breaking the code at Bletchley Park

World War II codebreaking centre set to benefit from latest Heritage Lottery Fund support.

Today, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has announced confirmed funding [1] of over £6m for three heritage projects. These involve:

Lifting the lid on Bletchley Park’s fascinating secret wartime history;
Conserving one of the UK’s most endangered insects - the bumblebee;
Restoring Newcastle’s ‘Black Gate’, a notable medieval landmark.
Carole Souter, Chief Executive of HLF, said: “These projects demonstrate the huge reach of our work, from protecting the endangered bumblebee to restoring wonderful historic buildings. We were extremely impressed with the quality of the proposals we looked at for this round of funding and high competition meant difficult decisions on the day. We hope that this sizeable investment of lottery money will give many more people the chance to get involved with their local heritage, wherever their interests lie.”

Read more: Breaking the code at Bletchley Park

Wrightstyle supplies to iconic new heart of historic city

The centre of Bristol is being reinvented with the largest mixed use development to have been built in the city for twenty years, bringing back into productive life a former brewery site that has lain derelict for ten years.

Centrepiece of the Finzels Reach development is Bridgewater House, the largest speculative office development on site outside London.

Read more: Wrightstyle supplies to iconic new heart of historic city

Details unveiled for £100million scheme to boost private giving to culture

Arts Council England, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) today announced further details of the £100million Catalyst scheme to boost private giving to the cultural sector.

Full guidance for applicants has now been published with the first part of the scheme now open for heritage applications.

Read more: Details unveiled for £100million scheme to boost private giving to culture

Globe Theatre Extension Aided by Laser Scanned 3D Models

 

Complex laser scanned computer models, created using software from Pointools, are helping architects design the most complete recreation of an English renaissance indoor theatre ever attempted. The indoor Jacobean theatre, the shell of which already exists on the Shakespeare’s Globe site in London, will be restored to provide a brand new theatre space that will seat around 320 people, with two tiers of galleried seating and an authentic pit seating area.

Read more: Globe Theatre Extension Aided by Laser Scanned 3D Models

English Heritage Publishes New Guidance on Theft of Metal from Churches

English Heritage has today (26 September 2011) issued new guidance on the theft of metal from church buildings in view of the intensification of the problem in some parts of England. The guidance offers greater clarity on when alternative materials might be appropriate and which ones are likely to be considered following theft of roofing materials.

Read more: English Heritage Publishes New Guidance on Theft of Metal from Churches

Lead And Other Metal Theft

We at Ecclesiastical and Heritage World thought you might like to join us and others in an effort to do something about this growing problem.

Historically the scrap metal trade has been a cash in hand industry which creates difficulties as there is no audit trail, making identification of individuals who may be trading stolen metal or who may be committing tax or benefits fraud, a difficult proposition.

An amendment to the Scrap Metal Merchants Act 1964 to prohibit cash transactions would make payment by cheque or directly into a bank account mandatory and would be a significant component in reducing metal theft

Sign the petition and forward to anyone else you think might be interested please.
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/406

"I want the one with the Owl on it"

Owlett-architectural Inspires Merchant Ambassador

The UK’s newest distributor of architectural ironmongery, Owlett-Architectural, has proved to be so popular with merchants across the UK that one satisfied customer has covered his workplace with images of the brand’s iconic owl.

Read more: "I want the one with the Owl on it"

Stairrods (UK) completes refurbishment project for Scottish Portrait Gallery

The Scottish Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh is due to re-open in November 2011 following a  £2 million refurbishment project, which includes the renovation by Stairrods (UK) of all 180 original, solid brass stair rods.

    The period rods had been damaged over the years by heavy foot traffic, the application of various cleaning materials, plus natural ageing, which had left the stair rods scratched, significantly marked and looking worn.

Read more: Stairrods (UK) completes refurbishment project for Scottish Portrait Gallery

Lovell Purbeck restores Floor at St. John's Church, Hyde Park

Produced in the company’s new tile factory

 Lovell Purbeck, a specialist supplier of Purbeck natural stone and British limestones, has recently supplied 650m2 of replacement internal flooring for the significant renovation project at St John’s Church, Hyde Park.  This project marks the first, completed scheme through the company’s new state-of-the-art tile factory at the stoneworks just outside Swanage, Dorset.

Read more: Lovell Purbeck restores Floor at St. John's Church, Hyde Park

Cumbria has restored and conserved their historic Leaded Windows in their famous Dallam Tower.

Lightworks Stained Glass windows have successfully restored the historic Leaded Windows at Dallam Tower in Cumbria meaning that the tower no longer suffers from draft problems and water damage.

Dallam Tower has seen it's historic windows suffer over the years creating draft problems and water ingress, their decision to commission Lightworks Stained Glass  to fully restore them has made a real difference to the tower in Cumbria.

Read more: Cumbria has restored and conserved their historic Leaded Windows in their famous Dallam Tower.

The History of Church Stained Glass Windows

Church Stained Glass Windows were once known as the "Poor Mans Bible".
Beautiful Stained Glass Windows illuminate our churches throughout the world, being one of the main focal points within these places of worship.  Their beautiful colours and pictures bring the bible to life through stories of saints and martyrs from the christian world.

What is the history of Church Stained Glass Windows?
 
For about 900 years, churches and cathedrals have been displaying these fantastic master pieces. Once known as the "poor mans bible" due to the fact that bibles were too expensive.  With paper being expensive the church decided that glass seemed the most cost effective and durable way to spread the word of God.  Stained glass windows in churches today are carefully maintained and restored due to their integral part of the churches ambiance.  Beautiful examples are the Sainte Chappelle, Canterbury Chapel and the Vatican in Rome.

Church Stained Glass Windows are a work of art and today specialist who specialise in bespoke design of Stained Glass  Windows for churches and residential homes can only be described as 'artistic craftsman'.  Many homes are now following the churches example and using stained glass windows within their home to tell stories of their family etc.  A good example is a local Bolton family who commissioned a Clitheroe company to create a stained glass window that told the story of their life, family and roots.
 
Stained Glass Windows will hopefully continue to be restored in churches and grow as a design trend in interior design.
 

The Stonehenge Enigma – An inconvenient truth

Robert Langdon’s new book, sheds new light on the evidence found in Stonehenge’s Visitors Car Park, which has subsequently been buried for over 40 years, that proves Stonehenge is really 5000 years older than we believe

The Stonehenge Enigma, has unearthed evidence that has been kept from public scrutiny for over 40 years.  Current theories on the discovery of the four post holes in a line found during excavation work on the visitors car park in 1966 are simple and dismissive – they are ‘totem poles’ claim English Heritage in their book ‘Stonehenge in its landscape’ by Cleal et al. 1995.

Read more: The Stonehenge Enigma – An inconvenient truth