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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.
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.
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.
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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CRE Events
Exhibitors enthuse over the CRE experience
By 4pm on the first day of CRE 24 at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, exhibitors Chris and Kim Dunphy had already had so many helpful and detailed conversations with visitors that they were “completely talked out”.
Insurance
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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How revitalisation of Caernarfon Castle has brought the town to life
This summer saw the first ever live performance of songs from a Welsh television rock opera, Melltithar y Nyth, as part of the GŵylArall arts festival, one of several community events held at Caernarfon Castle.
Community involvement is one element in a multi-million-pound scheme to revitalise the castle and parts of the historic town.
Another vital component is the new interpretation and the new entrance to the castle itself — a £780,000 investment through Cadw and the Welsh Government’s Heritage Tourism Project, part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
Cupola installed in period 1920's property
Glasgow-based Verrier Art Glass Designers have recently completed the installation of a Cupola for a client who had purchased a house built in the early 1920’s. The original cupola had become ugly over the years through exposure to nicotine and general dirtiness.
Rather than trying to clean it, the client decided to replace it with something in keeping with the period of construction that would allow light through into the hallway, but also obscure the view of the roof.
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.
There is a mystery to glass: It is a form of matter with gas, liquid and solid state properties. Glass is most like a super-cooled liquid. It captures light and glows from within. It is a jewel like substance made from the most ordinary materials: sand transformed by fire.
Plastering Techniques by Milestone Lime Plastering
Many older properties can suffer from damp problems, cracking and hollow render. Before the 20th Century the building techniques and materials used were very different from those used today. Traditional properties need to be able to "breathe" to allow moisture within a solid wall construction to evaporate from the external stonework or render.
Lime putty was the base product mainly used to produce mortar, plaster and lime wash for traditional buildings. The advantages to using lime putty mortars instead of cement based mortars is that they are porous, thus allowing the property structure to breathe, they can accommodate general movement and the self healing nature of lime products reduces cracking problems.
Now you can shop online for hand-carved decoration
Agrell Architectural Carving, one of the world's foremost custom woodcarving workshops, recently launched its own product line, Astor & Mallet. Through its online store at www.astorandmallet.com the company offers a wide range of decorative mouldings, appliques, rosettes, corbels, capitals, panels, finials and other architectural elements - all hand-carved to the highest quality.
Other companies may claim their products are hand-carved, but that's rarely the case. Typically, machines do the bulk of the work and then the piece is sometimes cleaned up by hand. It never looks right. Astor & Mallet never uses machines to carve its products - and it never will.
It's never too early to be ready for Christmas - with all the right folding furniture!
Looking for the perfect table to use for different settings and occasions? You would obviously want something that has the flexibility for that. There are many options available but you might not find anything better than a plastic folding table. It has everything that you want and then some.
Take a look at some of the advantages that it offers over other similar products.
South Pavilion, Wooton, Buckinghamshire by Martin UK
This property was one of two identical Lodge Buildings adjacent to the main entrance gates of an exceptional country mansion originally built for the Gladstone Family.
Over the decades the two Lodge Buildings (North and South Pavilion) had fallen into disrepair so the owners decided to carry out the long overdue renovation works.
York Handmade win major award at Brick Oscars
The York Handmade Brick Company, one of the leading independent brickmakers in the country, has won a major prize in the prestigious 2015 Brick Awards.
York Handmade, based at Alne, near Easingwold, in North Yorkshire, won the Best Outdoor Space category in the brick awards for its “magnificent achievement” in restoring the Belvedere and Queen Elizabeth Walled Garden at Dumfries House in Scotland, a pioneering restoration project masterminded by Prince Charles.
Caring for the nation's natural stone
So much of the continuation of Britain’s built heritage relies upon the conservation and restoration of natural stone buildings. Churches, monuments, town halls and residential properties across the length and breadth of the British Isles all depend upon the skills and expertise of the natural stone industry’s restoration and conservation sector.
The most common challenge faced by those looking to care for these historic structures is selecting the correct professional to undertake the work.
The question that often arises is: “How can I be sure that the job will be done properly?” This is where Stone Federation Great Britain can help.
Tremendous success for Britain’s brick specialists at Brick Awards
Michelmersh Brick Holdings PLC is delighted to announce that it collected four of the fifteen accolades at this year’s Brick Awards, held last night at The Hilton, Park Lane in London. The British manufacturer won Best Refurbishment Project, Best Public & Education Building, Best Housing Design Award and the BDA Chairman’s Award. Now in its 39th year, and hosted by the Brick Development Association, the Brick Awards celebrate excellence in design and construction using brick.
UK's leading regeneration event heads for Liverpool
Regen, the 3rd annual free-to-attend Exhibition and Conference for the UK Regeneration Industry, is taking place from Wednesday 22 to Thursday 23 March 2017 at St George's Hall in Liverpool.
For exhibiting companies wishing to market or sell their products and services, attract new investment or establish new long-term business contacts and relationships, or visitors wanting to meet potential suppliers or partners, or attend the conference to learn, discuss and debate the hot topics in regeneration, Regen offers something for everyone involved in the industry.
Urban & rural regeneration is a massive industry in its own right, and continues to transform the prosperity of every town and city in the UK, and is the precise reason that Regen was launched 3 years ago, attracts over 1,500 registered delegates each time, and is now firmly established as the regeneration industry’s leading forum in the U.K.
Advanced Panels installed in historic Bath Empire
Global intelligent fire systems manufacturer, Advanced, has been chosen to protect the historic Empire Hotel in Bath.
The historic Grade II-listed building is located close to Bath Abbey and Pulteney Bridge and was used as a Royal Navy postal sorting office from World War 2 until 1990, when it was converted into retirement apartments and restaurants.
Dreadnought Tiles play their part in award winning conservation
Re-roofing of Tyntesfield House, a Grade 1 Listed Victorian Gothic Revival mansion near Bristol, formed a major part of it's restoration, which won the RICS 2012 South West Building Conservation Award. Leaks in the roof had caused water damage in most rooms and poor maintenance had contributed to its state.
A key principal of the restoration was the retention, where possible, of all original materials and the use of traditional ‘like for like’ materials, which led to new Dreadnought roof tiles being used alongside those salvaged from the property.
Specialist buildings need specialist audio systems
Any architecturally or acoustically demanding building which requires sound or communication systems needs input from experienced audio specialists to ensure the right products and design input are incorporated into a new or upgraded system.
Members of the Institute of Sound and Communications Engineers (ISCE) are professionals from the field of audio, especially public address, voice alarm, sound system, audio frequency induction loop system, audio-video or acoustics, who maintain a code of conduct in professional activities.
Fixed those gutters? Your building needs you!
Your building needs you! Unfortunately, the best time to check for leaks and overflows in gutters and downpipes is while it is actually raining.
National Maintenance Week is coming up in November and this annual awareness week always ends with National Gutters Day - this year on Friday 27 November 2015. It is a gentle reminder for everyone to take a little time to make a simple check on the condition of any property you are responsible for. A basic building ‘MOT’ can save you from having to spend a great deal of money at a later date.
Two Purcell projects recognised at the Oxford Preservation Trust Awards
Purcell is delighted to have two projects recognised once again at the Oxford Preservation Trust (OPT) Awards. The Undercroft Bar received a certificate and St Nicolas Church, Abingdon, received a letter of commendation. Purcell has previously won with the Radcliffe Humanities Building and the Oxford University Museum of Natural History.
The Undercroft is a Grade II listed bar that was desperately in need of modernisation. It’s located within the lower level of the Lee Building at Christ Church and was formally used for dissections as part of the Anatomy School. Purcell upgraded the area to improve access and build a new bar and facilities making better use of the space.
Northcot Brick wins prestigious Self Build Award
Northcot Brick, one of the UK’s foremost independent brick manufacturers, has received a prestigious 2015 ‘Build It Award’ for the quality of its brickwork.
As this year’s outright winner in the ‘Best Masonry Home’ category, Bridge House, a traditional brick and flint family house in Norfolk, was highly praised by the judges for its outstanding craftsmanship and brick detailing, which they said ‘could not be faulted’.
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