The Heritage Lottery Fund has announced that it has awarded the Black Watch Museum Trust the sum of £778,000, and as such, the Trustees formally committed to proceeding with the project to improve the Castle and Museum with a forecast completion date of April next year.

Darlington-based Stone Technical Services is carrying out emergency work on the official residence of Her Majesty the Queen.

Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world with a history spanning over 1000 years and Stone has been engaged to complete a full survey of the masonry on the castle’s terrace.

Part of a hospital and former mental asylum is to be completely revamped by historic conservation company, Stone Edge.

The historic site at St James’ Hospital in Milton, Portsmouth, is to be preserved through extensive conservation work.

Edinburgh based design firm Studio MB have been appointed by Newcastle’s Heart of the City Partnership to develop new interpretive design across a number of key historical sites in the city.

Plans for a centre for remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum have been boosted by a £2.85m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The £12m scheme includes building a pavilion for special events and a remembrance learning centre.

A British Army regiment has marked its move into a new home with a 6ft (1.8m) tall sculpture of one of its rank.

The Royal Engineers Sapper was carved from the trunk of a beech tree by a sculptor in Lancashire's Ribble Valley.

Pioneer House has dominated the skyline in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, since 1878. But the building was neglected and unoccupied for years after it was bought by a company in 2005.

The company’s project never took off and the listed building’s condition deteriorated rapidly.

On 28 June HM The Queen unveiled a memorial in London’s Green Park to the aircrew of RAF Bomber Command who lost their lives serving their country. The completion of the memorial was the culmination of a long campaign to mark the sacrifice of the 55,573 aircrew who died during World War Two, and whose contribution to the allied victory had not, many felt, been adequately remembered.

The Church of St Andrew in Blunsdon St Andrew is a fine example of an English historic church which has been sensitively restored to its former state, using old and new materials and combining modern construction methods with traditional craftsmanship.

Surprising Discoveries during Exhumations Of A Post Medieval London Cemetery

Church buildings are often found to be sites of hidden historical and archaeological interest writes Mark Toop, who has made a number of unusual and significant discoveries in his role as Exhumations Director at Rowland Brothers Funeral Directors. Here he reminisces over such instances during a lifelong career.

Mark Toop has worked alongside architects and archaeologists throughout his professional life. Arguably, one of the most important discoveries in which he was involved, was that of the grave of evangelist Rev Charles Wesley and his family.

An iconic Northumberland heritage site cared for by the National Trust is set to go green thanks to solar power.

Lindisfarne Castle on Holy Island has had 48 solar panels fitted on the roof in order to generate electricity, the Castle’s only source of power.

By Les Howard of vatadvice.org
At Stand A16 CRE Manchester  from 10th October

The Chancellor was unique in being booed during the Olympics. He has also been booed in a number of business and charity sectors as a result of his Budget earlier this year. In his attempt to clarify anomalies (his words), he has further burdened hot food retailers, self storage operators, and, most significantly, owners of Listed Buildings, including numerous churches.

Major changes take effect from 1 October 2012 and transitional rules until 30 Sept 2015. In common with VAT regulations generally, they are not straightforward.

Heritage Craft Alliance is opening its training centre at Thorp Perrow in the Yorkshire Dales for a full week of demonstrations, training courses and advice sessions relating to conserving, maintaining and restoring older and historic buildings.

Anyone who owns or has interest in older properties would benefit from visiting the centre and even taking part in one or more of the short training courses.

Conservators working on the restoration of the Great East Window at York Minster have completed the conservation of half of the panels in the stunning medieval window depicting the story of the Apocalypse.

York Minster's Great East Window contains the largest expanse of medieval stained glass in Britain, and was designed by one of the stained glass master John Thornton of Coventry.  Started in 1405 and completed in 1408, the main part of the window depicts the Apocalypse, and is recognised around the world as being some of the finest medieval stained glass still in existence.  The restoration of half of the Apocalypse panels is now complete thanks to the tireless work of the York Glaziers Trust.

In the beginning
Joyce Davison and Maureen Waterston first met late in 1979, when (with many years of individual experience in different areas within “the Rag-Trade”) they both applied for jobs at a local Theatre, making and mending Costumes for the 8-week Pantomime Season. When those time-limited jobs came to an end, the Theatre Manager suggested that they should set up in business together.

RF Training owns and operates its own City and Guilds accredited training centres in Birmingham and Manchester. The company delivers plumbing courses, electrician training, and gas courses, specialising in foundation courses for new entrants to the trades and those upgrading their skills, such as Gas Safe accreditation.