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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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NHIG - Heritage Ironwork Seminar
The National Ironwork Heritage Group (NHIG) are holding a Heritage Ironwork Seminar on Friday June 30th this year at Hartlebury Castle, Kidderminster DY11 7XZ from 9.30am to 4.30pm.
The National Heritage Ironwork Group was established in 2009 to raise public awareness about historic ironwork and provide guidance to professionals involved in its restoration. NHIG promotes good conservation practice and high standards of workmanship so as to safeguard the long term survival and integrity of heritage ironwork for the benefit of the nation. They also champion practitioners of traditional ironworking skills and aim to inspire emerging professionals to develop traditional skills. While they cannot endorse the work of specific companies, members are by virtue of their membership ascribing to NHIG Conservation Principles.
Heath Methodist Church, Runcorn gets acoustic and aesthetic upgrade from Richard King Systems
Completed in 1970 the building is bold statement of modern architecture. However, while the interior of the main worship hall is visually impressive, the environment for speech intelligibility is acoustically very challenging.
Previous attempts to improve communication of the service by the installation of a sound reinforcement system provided only very limited improvement. In fact, it could be fair to say that, these measures had just aggravated the acoustic situation.
The 2017 Repair Grants Programme is open for applications
Repair grants from the National Churches Trust are awards usually of between £5,000 and £40,000 towards the cost of urgent and essential structural repair projects, such as roof repairs. Projects must usually have an estimated cost of at least £100,000 (including VAT and fees) to qualify.
Places of worship of any denomination and age are eligible and applications from listed and unlisted Christian places of worship across the UK will be considered. The Trust are particularly interested in seeing applications from their priority areas - North East England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, as well as from Baptist and Presbyterian churches, but other churches may still apply.
Legacy of renowned botanist lives on in archive storage box
Daniel Charles Solander (1736-1782) was a renowned Swedish botanist who came to England on the advice of his tutor Linnaeus to become Assistant Librarian, and afterwards Keeper of Printed Books, at the British Museum. He also travelled on the ‘Endeavour’ with Captain Cook on his expedition to the Pacific. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society and acted as Secretary and Librarian to Sir Joseph Banks, the eminent scientist.
Architectural terracotta producer goes from strength to strength
Two years on from saving over 30 skilled jobs, Darwen Terracotta and Faience report they have smashed their original £1.3 million turnover target. “There is a well justified buzz about the place and an optimism that the hard teamwork and effort have paid off and we have created a sustainable path to a better future for all, explained Jon Wilson.”
Juliet’s journey: it started with a scarf
When Juliet Hemingray was asked to make an embroidered preaching scarf for a friend, an amazing journey began that has seen her become a leading creator of church textiles.
Countless members of the cloth now wear Juliet’s ecclesiastical vestments, including three Archbishops of Canterbury – George Carey, Rowan Williams and Justin Welby. The colourful robes worn by the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu at his enthronement were also made by Juliet and her talented team, in collaboration with Watts & Co.
Iron Glasshouse repair works, Tyntesfield in Bristol
Dorothea Restorations have been working on this Grade 1 listed National Trust property for many years. Projects have included removal, restoration painting and refitting of historic guttering and downpipes, and repairs to the unique cast iron glass houses in the kitchen gardens, and wrought iron potting shed windows.
William Gibbs, who build his fortune on fertiliser, created this fine example of a Gothic revival Victorian country home. Gibbs bought Tyntes Place estate in 1843, at the time featuring a simple regency style house.
Stability in a world of change - Cunnings celebrate 40 years
Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her Silver Jubilee, the Ford Fiesta goes on sale in the UK, British Airways inaugurates a regular supersonic Concorde service from London to New York and Cunnings Recording Associates is established in London.
Rainclear take the guess-work out of guttering
Rainclear Systems has been providing customers with high quality Metal Guttering for over a decade now. At the same time the friendly, knowledgeable team have been offering advice, free quotations and a ‘take off’ service to its customers.
But what is a ‘take off’ service and how does it take the guess-work out of buying your guttering?
Double planning success for Dorchester and Shepton Mallet Prison redevelopments
Planning permission has been granted for architect Purcell’s two prison redevelopments for City & Country. Dorchester prison in Dorset and Shepton Mallet prison in Somerset will be restored and converted into high quality homes.
Uniquely created for practicality and beauty
On 27th November 2016 Stoke Newington Methodist Church opened the doors of its new church on Stoke Newington High Street. Somerset based Fullers Finer Furniture were approached to assist with the design and manufacture of furniture for the building, having in recent years worked in a number of methodist churches in London.
Whilst great care is taken to ensure that each project the company undertakes receives identical expertise, craftsmanship and customer service, each is uniquely created to suit the specification and character of the individual church – there is no ‘one size fits all’.
Get organised for 2017! Easy steps to organising your hall this year
A new year is a fantastic time to think about reorganising your church hall in preparation for any upcoming events you may be hosting in 2017. At Mogo Direct, supplying halls with practical folding chairs and tables along with other key furnishings is one of our primary specialities, so we have a great range of products that may be suitable for what you need.
Of course, the first step you’ll need to take is to thoroughly clear out and tidy your hall space. It’s very common for miscellaneous bits and pieces to accumulate in church halls, as there simply may not be a place for everything to be tidied away immediately. If you want to maximise your space and put it to good use, though, you need to tackle this. Get your clutter organised and packed into storage if necessary.
Established firm provides winter warmers for Cheshire church and Bedfordshire mansion
The past few months have been a busy time for specialist heating contractors Mellor and Mottram. The Stoke-on-Trent firm paused only for the Christmas celebrations before pushing on to complete jobs in both the South and North West of England.
February saw the final touches put to a new system at St Oswald’s Parish Church in Brereton, Cheshire. An Anglican church in the diocese of Chester, St Oswald’s is Grade Two* listed and has been described as ‘an unusually complete late perpendicular church’.
CRE goes ‘Back to the Future’ at Sandown
In October we revealed that Christian Resources Exhibitions (CRE) had been sold by Bible Society to a new owner headed up by its former media consultant Stephen Goddard.
In December Stephen introduced the new team, stating: “Last May the Bible Society decided to focus on its core mission of offering The Bible to the world and purposed to find a new home for CRE or close it down.
Northcot Project is the ‘Supreme Winner’ of the Brick Awards
Northcot Brick’s flagship project, the Newport Street Gallery, has been declared the outright winner of the‘Supreme Award’ - the highest accolade given by the Brick Development Association (BDA) in its annual ‘Brick Awards’.
As one of the longest established and most widely respected building awards in the UK, the annual BDA Brick Awards recognise excellence in design and construction using brick.
BJ Waller helps to restore historic Norman Castle
Oakham Castle, one of the finest examples of Norman architecture in the UK, has undergone a major renovation, thanks to a £2.1 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. As part of the project, BJ Waller sourced and supplied architectural ironmongery to complement the history and grandeur of the historical castle, within a tight timescale.
Working closely with John Wright of Weston Allison Wright, BJ Waller produced an ironmongery schedule for high-end Frank Allart door furniture. The door furniture supplied was in unlacquered polished brass that slotted perfectly in with the aesthetics of the historical castle.
Finchley’s rose window blossoms once more
In the Summer of last year Essex-based stained glass restorers AuraVisions were engaged to repair a large rose window at Christ Church in North Finchley. The window was made by Clayton and Bell in around 1870 and sits high in the west gable of the church. It consists of eight large cinquefoils (five-leaved designs), eight spokes and eight outer triangles, plus a central quatrefoil (four-leaved) light.
The geometric vine pattern, with varied multi-coloured floral motifs, swirls around the window with handmade glasses, giving a sparkly and intense kaleidoscopic feel. The window was restored as part of a major project to repair the whole of the west wall of the church, which involved extensive repairs to the stonework and tracery.
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