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Renovation completed against the elements

0n8627 Houghtons of York were appointed as main contractor for an interesting renovation project on the west coast of Scotland. Cul Na Shee, a Landmark Trust property is located in the small village of Saddell, Kintyre, about a 25 minute drive from Campbletown. The only access is through a narrow archway at Saddell Castle followed by a rough track, and finally a 60m walk along a picturesque gravel beach.

While this makes for a lovely approach to the property it made delivery of materials to site a rather tricky process, with large delivery trucks needing to be unloaded into a small van for the track before being carried by hand along the beach.

Rinzaffo MGN – salt resistant lime scratch coat, available from Core Conservation

0n8650 One of the unique products from Core Conservation is RINZAFFO MGN, a plaster developed in 1980 in Venice to tackle the problem of capillary rising damp, penetrating damp and salts - however its origins stretch back to ancient Roman times.

It is a breathable salt resistant lime scratch coat, which protects subsequent plaster layers from the destructive effect of salts. Because it is both waterproof and breathable in the same time, it is suitable for a number of specialist applications such as:

Care and maintenance of rainwater goods

'Rainwater goods' is a term that covers a variety of different means of shedding rainwater away from a building. Most commonly seen as attached iron guttering, rainwater goods can also be incorporated, unseen, into the building’s fabric, behind parapets and within walls.

The need to shed rainwater away from the walls has been recognized for a long time. Medieval churches are famed for their decorative gargoyles and impressive spouts, simple yet effective ways of doing the job. However, in a modern urban setting these means of draining a roof would be rather hazardous for passers-by and churches are more commonly seen with guttering, chutes and downpipes.

Heritage bodies set out election Manifesto

3uSjs9C Ahead of the next UK general election, the Heritage Alliance – a coalition of 200 heritage organisations in England – has published its 2023 Heritage Manifesto, demonstrating how heritage provides solutions to a range of public policy challenges and setting out a vision for the sector under the next term of government.

York Consortium for Conservation and Craftsmanship to hold 'Second Tuesday Talks'

0n8696 The YCCC is running a free series of ‘Second Tuesday Talks’. These informal talks will be held via Zoom at 19:00 on the second Tuesday of each month, from July to September.

The talks will vary slightly in format, but each event will be around one hour long and provide ample time for audience questions. We hope that you will take the opportunity to hear these fascinating talks, and we welcome suggestions for future topics.

New annexe provides opportunity for an AV upgrade

St Wilfrid’s Church in Grappenhall – a village near to Warrington, Cheshire – is designated as a Grade One-listed building. Built in red sandstone, the church dates from the earlier part of the 12th century.

In August 2020 building work was started on an annexe on the hidden side of the church, with a flexible welcome/discovery room, refreshment area, service and storage area with toilets. As part of the scheme the church required the incorporation of audio-visual facilities in the annexe and major AV improvements within the church building. Following a selection process Richard King Systems were selected as the AV specialists for the scheme.

Pipe organ restoration reveals original glazier

J Goodwin Stained Glass recently had the privilege of playing a small role in the restoration of the historically significant pipe organ of All Saints Church in Roos, Yorkshire.

The organ was built by Karl Christian Reiter of Hull in 1881, and is one of only two known to survive in an unmodified condition. The masonary repairs and timber work were carried out by F Kemp & Son of Skirlaugh, the organ was expertly restored and rebuilt by Harrogate-based Peter Wood & Son, and the front pipes were beautifully reinstated to their original design using colour matched paint by John McWilliams, the church warden.

Every church needs one of these…bespoke hand sanitiser stations

In a sign of the times a local church recently approached Fullers Finer Furniture of Weston-super-Mare in connection with the provision of purpose-built hand sanitiser stations. The church was in the process of undertaking risk assessments to take into account the additional precautions necessary to enable the building to be Covid secure and safely re-opened, in due course, for gathered worship.

Fullers Finer Furniture is a well-known company specialising in the manufacture of bespoke furniture for places of worship, education and the like.

How to secure your heritage building

Towards the end of 2016, following several years of steady decline, the price of metal, and in particular lead and copper, showed an upturn. This meant that protected heritage sites and buildings were placed at an increased risk of metal theft.

In response the Home Office announced it would be reviewing the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013, which it duly carried out, with contributions from UK Policing, The Heritage Alliance, and British Metals Recycling Association among others.

Ellis and Co repair St Gregory's Church, Cheltenham

0n8677 Ellis and Co repaired and redecorated this late 1800's Grade II listed church in Cheltenham.

The church of St Gregory the Great is a Grade II listed building consecrated in 1875 after a mid- 1800’s rebuild. Ellis and Co were commissioned as principle contractor to extensively repair and redecorate the interior of the building. Including revealing historic wall paintings.

AABC: The Register of Architects Accredited in Building Conservation - benefitting clients and the structures they are responsible for

OgtxbTl In recent years the Climate Crisis has been throwing new light on the benefits of refurbishing historic buildings. Extending the life of a historic building offers benefits over new construction in terms of embodied energy and waste. The thoughtful upgrade of a historic building by a competent architect can also reduce operational energy costs, a fact that clients and building users are increasingly aware of. However, in the hands of an architect inexperienced in working with sensitive historic buildings there is also the danger that inappropriate or damaging interventions may be made, putting clients and the structures they are responsible for at risk. It stands to reason that now, more than ever, the accreditation of Architects in Building Conservation plays an important part in linking clients with suitably skilled architects.

New state of the art visitor centre is a step closer for Lincoln Cathedral

0n8691 Another major phase of works to Lincoln Cathedral as part of the £16.5m Connected project, of which £12.4m is funded by The National Lottery, is now complete.

Since ground was broken back in October 2018 by building contractor William Birch & Sons, the Cathedral and the surrounding close have seen considerable conservation and renovation works taking place.

Sensitive adaptation maintains the beauty of Grade One medieval treasure

JBKS mainpic A beautiful piece of precious history, such as a church building, is so much better when it can be used today. Its colours and textures can be felt, evoking a sense of history so much richer than just walking through it as a monument.

The lovely Grade One-listed St Mary’s Church in Purton, Wiltshire, is built in Cotswold stone and dates from the 13th century. Its twisted ribbed roof structure and medieval paintings reflect the soft colours of its ancient lime plaster and its crooked pillars and limestone arches tell of the hands that crafted them.

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