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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
After the Midlands, onward to Milton Keynes
"CRE Midlands reminded me of the giddy days when it first began – the venue was packed with exhibitors and visitors and there was a busy atmosphere. The whole thing looked great."
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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Church furnishing specialist Rosehill aim to raise £3,000 to support fight against cancer
This June a team of 9 adventurous, courageous and tenacious individuals from Rosehill Furniture Group shall attempt the National Three Peaks Challenge to raise funds for two very special charity causes that are close to our hearts.
Help them in their quest to complete the challenge and raise an amazing £3000 in aid of The Christie and Action on Womb Cancer. The funds raised will be split equally between the two charities so please support the challenge and give generously.
The end of the pew? How stacking chairs and seating are favoured in churches today
For the first 1500 years of the Church’s life, pews were extremely rare. In most medieval Churches for example, people stood or sat on the floor with only a narrow bench around the edge of the building for eating. Some Churches never even got around to installing pews and in Eastern Orthodox Churches in Russia and Greece worshippers still stand today!
Pews render the space in Churches virtually unusable for anything other than two hour long events a week. A recent survey found that pews effectively exclude 90% of people who are not regular attendees of services.
Regeneration of Grade II listed estate shortlisted for Roofing Awards 2016
Last December saw the completion of the regeneration scheme at the Byker Wall Estate in Newcastle and the project has been shortlisted for the Roofing Awards 2016 in the Solar category.
Work first started in block stages in August 2014, to the Grade II listed estate that was formed in the late 1960s, replacing the former Victorian housing. The community benefitted from major investment in the estate made by the Byker Community Trust.
Church gutters - the do’s and don’ts
The problem with most church gutters is that they are hard to get to, they were often under-designed in the first place, and there isn't the money or able bodied volunteers around to clear them out.
Dr Malcolm Wearing BEng PhD CEng MICE MCIWEM, a consultant at CRM Rainwater Drainage Consultancy Ltd, is particularly aware of these challenges, as aside from his professional life, he is involved in the leadership of a team of churches with two listed buildings and another two Victorian buildings with significant challenges.
Heritage Watch is coming to York
The inaugural meeting of York Heritage Watch was held at the Stained Glass Centre at St Martin Cum Gregory Church, Micklegate, York on Thursday 18th February. The meeting was chaired by Trace-in-Metal managing director John Minary, and was co-hosted by Police Community Support Officer Kayleigh Rae of North Yorkshire Police, York City Centre Policing Team.
Rainclear Introduce Dflow – a deeper aluminium gutter - better in wetter weather
As Britain braces itself for more of the unpredictable weather conditions experienced in recent years, Rainclear has responded by adding NEW Dflow to its comprehensive and high quality rainwater systems.
Dflow is a higher capacity, deeper, beaded half round extruded aluminium gutter, available in a 125 x 100mm size, to suit either traditional or modern buildings in areas and conditions of higher rainfall.
The Mary Mags Project
Twenty years ago St. Mary Magdalene’s was in a sorry state, as the vast building was decaying visibly and its maintenance was well beyond the resources of the small congregation. The Archdeacon of Charing Cross, Dr Bill Jacob, was the consistent presence over the intervening years as with others he sought solutions to the conundrum of what to do with an outstandingly beautiful and important church now anomalously situated on a very un-Anglican council estate (widely perceived as dangerous) and with other churches with better facilities close by.
Phil Price appointed President of ISCE
At the recent AGM of the Institute of Sound and Communications Engineers (ISCE) Phil Price MInstSCE was appointed President for a term of three years, taking over from Tony Smith.
At the same time, Helen Goddard FInstSCE, managing director of AMS Acoustics (below), was appointed Vice-President.
Pavers from Ketley deliver on award-winning Barbican restoration
Paving tiles from West Midlands based Ketley Brick Company Ltd are helping to deliver the renovation of the Barbican podium area which began late 2013. As a listed building, the requirements were to maintain the general appearance of the paving while freshening the look of the area and delivering good slip resistance. Over 280,000 paving tiles in three brindle colours were supplied for the first phase of the restoration.
Church re-roofing leads to two new product lines from tile manufacturer
When the call came through to Dreadnought Tiles requesting tile samples for a church re-roofing project little did the manufacturer realise that the contract would lead to the development of two new product lines aimed specifically at plugging a gap in the restoration market.
Discreet heating solution for heritage warehouse conversion
When a 19th Century wharfside store in Carmarthen was transformed into a luxurious family home, choosing a heating system that would complement the interior aesthetics while maintaining energy-efficient comfort was essential. The answer proved to be a Unico small duct warm air heating system, where the only visible signs of the system are discreet outlets in each space.
BTP Architects gets the vote for landmark historical project
BTP Architects has been appointed to restore the landmark Pankhurst Centre in Manchester. Subject to successful fundraising, the £2.6m project will see a complete refurbishment of the site which is the former home of suffragette, Emmeline Pankhurst.
Following a design competition, BTP Architects was selected by the Pankhurst Trust to restore the Grade II* listed building and support its Stage 1 Heritage Lottery Fund bid.
Short on music rehearsal space at your church? Help is at hand!
You could say that music is the heart and soul of our churches. Unfortunately, space is often limited for rehearsal and practice, however there is now a low budget tried and tested innovative solution.
BeatBox™ is a fantastic contemporary music space offering a dedicated soundproofed environment for music creativity. Providing a unique music practice room for bands or solo players, it is transportable, compact and tenacious.
Multiple wins at London Planning Awards for Trafalgar Place
Trafalgar Place, residential scheme designed by De Rijke Marsh Morgan Architects (dRMM) has won the ‘Best New Place to Live’ and the ‘Mayor’s Award for Planning Excellence’ at London Planning Awards, 2016.
As the first phase in Lendlease’s regeneration of the former Heygate Estate, Elephant & Castle; Trafalgar Place is a scheme of 235 homes integrated within the historic fabric of the predominantly 19th century neighbourhood. The design reconnects the existing monolithic architectural interventions of the Heygate Estate and integrates the adjacent neighbourhoods.
2016 UK Roofing Awards – finalists revealed
After receiving almost 300 entries this year, we are delighted to announce the finalists for the UK Roofing Awards in 2016. The competition ran from September until the end of January when a panel of technical experts from supporting trade associations whittled the entries down to just 56 projects across 14 categories. The winners are then chosen by a small panel of construction professionals.
The winners will be announced at the UK Roofing Awards ceremony on Friday 13th May 2016. We wish this year’s finalists the very best of luck. All the short-listed projects, sponsors and more information on the Awards can be found at www.roofingawards.co.uk.
Maximizing experience and expertise to custom build for the future
Frimley Green Methodist Church is a brick built building in the heart of Frimley Green, serving both the church and the wider community. The building was first completed in 1940, and replaced an old tin chapel, since then an extension has been added and the wooden stalls replaced with more comfortable seating. The church is a busy multi-functional venue with many activities taking place each week. In 2015 a decision was made to update the building and Fullers Finer Furniturewas commissioned to carry out the work.
The brief was to modernise and improve the functionality of the space at the front of the church and to provide new furniture that was both aesthetically pleasing and pleasingly functional.
New church hall meets stringent building requirements
When St John The Evangelist Church in Redhill, Surrey decided that they needed a church hall, to address the lack of children’s facilities as well as the need for office space, they approached specialist contractors Surrey-based Corniche Builders Ltd to undertake the project which had to meet a number of stringent requirements.
The church is a Grade B Ecclesiastical Listed Building, whilst the churchyard and boundary wall are curtilage listed. The proposal required work to be carried out within the graveyard and so there were issues relating to the sensitivities of the relocation of graves. The site also lies close to the Earlswood and Redhill Common Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI).
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