Old Library Furniture Restoration

Following a full survey of the historic furniture collections completed by Heritage Project Management (HPM) in 2012, several items were identified as needing repair and conservation / restoration.

The large 16 seat Readers Tables from the Main Reading Room of the Central Library are one of the best-known features from the public areas of the building.

They had suffered from years of constant use and needed restoration to return them to their former glory.

They also required modernisation to improve the historic lighting canopies and to remove ACM from their interiors.

Working with specialist furniture restorers and M&E contractors, consultants from Heritage Project Contracts (HPC) undertook works to repair and restore the tables and their canopies.

Council Chamber Furniture

Following the partial collapse of the Council Chamber ceiling and several decades of wear and tear; the Council Chamber furniture was found to be in need of careful conservation and refurbishment.

Given the high historic and aesthetic significance of the furniture, consultants from HPM, working with furniture restoration specialists AG Podmore & Son, undertook a comprehensive condition assessment of the furniture and of the ‘pig skin’ doors from the Chamber entrances.

The findings of the assessment were used to inform the Listed Building Consent application which HPM produced on behalf of Manchester City Council. The application covered the refurbishment of the furniture and a programme of sympathetic alterations to install modern voting systems and AV services into the chamber. This included the repair of previous alterations which had damaged the historic fabric of the desks; restoring them to their original appearance.

HPM has successfully submitted a number of LBC applications in support of the Manchester Transformation Project. This has included works to remove and refurbish a number of 1870s street lamps from within the curtilage of the Grade 1 Listed Town Hall and applications to install modern elements into the historic fabric of the buildings.

For further information on the two companies involved visit
www.heritageprojectmanagement.com
www.agpodmore.co.uk