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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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The night is young! Let's visit the museum.
The weekend of 15-17 May will see the Museums at Night 2009 event, when museums open their doors for special night-time events and tours aimed at those who don’t normally get the chance to visit them.
Heritage bodies fear crisis in LA services
Heritage bodies have united to urge Government to use its proposed statement on the historic environment to encourage local authorities not to cut historic environment services. A new report into local authority conservation and archaeology resources in England has revealed a recent drop in staff levels that could, heritage bodies claim, lead to a future crisis.
Regeneration seminars stress importance of 'knowing the building'
More than 90 delegates attended a day of seminars on Regenerating Historic Buildings at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester at the end of April.
Last retreat faces £1m bill
One of the country’s last remaining Church of England retreat houses is launching a public appeal in a desperate bid to raise the £1m it needs for essential renovation work. If the money cannot be raised by the beginning of September the doors of Launde Abbey, which welcome in around 20,000 people a year, will be forced to close for good.
Restoration wins out over replacement: on cost
Wooden sash windows at a historic 17th-century mansion in Warwickshire have been saved and restored, because it proved more cost-effective than replacing them.
Heritage bodies announce shared commitment to skills training
Several leading organisations behind the drive to preserve and maintain the built heritage met in Westminster on 31 March under the auspices of Sir Patrick Cormack’s Arts and Heritage All Party Parliamentary Group, to launch a shared commitment to promote the highest possible standards and best practice in the built heritage workforce.
Merger creates a partnership of experience
Two architectural practices with track records in the ecclesiastical and heritage sectors have merged to form a new firm. PEP Architects Ltd and the Peter Bradford Partnership – both based in Tring, Hertfordshire – have come together to form Thompson Bradford Architects Ltd.
Eco glazing graces listed Meeting House
Quakers living close to the birthplace of their 357-year-old way of life are warming to a new solution for double glazing in listed buildings. The picturesque Sawley Friends Meeting House, a Grade Two-listed building that dates back to 1777, is situated on the edge of the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire – just a few short miles from Pendle Hill, where Quakerism first began, inspired by George Fox in 1652.
New funding announced for Bowes Museum
The transformation of The Bowes Museum at Barnard Castle in County Durham is continuing apace. The latest news is the announcement that a further bid for £250,000 to the Garfield Weston Foundation has been successful.
Report backs community uses for faith buildings
The Government and the Church of England has published guidelines to help all religious groups overcome the ‘squeamishness’ they can encounter from funding providers. Churches and Faith Buildings: Realising the Potential identifies funding and support for faith groups that will enable them to adapt their buildings for community use and build on their capacity to engage at local and regional level.
Late night opening set for May
The annual ‘Museums at Night’ event will this year take place from 15-17 May. A national campaign for late night opening across the UK, it seeks to attract people into museums who don’t usually visit simply by staying open late or by creating special events. It will link up with the European-wide campaign of the same name (La Nuit de Musées), which takes place on 16th May.
New light shines forth at Beamish
Beamish Open Air Museum in County Durham will open its latest exhibit to visitors on 28 March following an exclusive VIP preview on 26th March when it unveils a new £1m colliery lamp cabin, which complements the existing recreated 1913 Colliery Village, a centrepiece of the museum.
Olympic dig unearths ‘unknown London’
A flint axe over 4,000 years old was the cream of a crop of discoveries during a two-year archaeological investigation into the past of London’s Olympic Park. Archaeologists believe the unfinished prehistoric axe was placed in waterlogged ground on purpose, giving a unique insight into the first eastenders that lived and hunted in the area.
Blackfriars refurbishment will see new station
London’s 120-year-old Blackfriars Railway Bridge is to undergo a £6m refurbishment by industrial services group Pyeroy.
Excellence in Roofing: finalists announced
The National Federation of Roofing Contractors has announced the finalists in this year’s Excellence in Roofing Awards, including the popular Heritage category. The finalists have been selected based on demonstrated quality workmanship, technical difficulties encountered, problem solving, environmental qualities and aesthetics.What’s available and where
Preserving and maintaining the nation’s built heritage is also part and parcel of preserving the environment in which we live. That environmental husbandry extends to the materials we use in the restoration projects we undertake and new additions to the built heritage. Re-using and recycling is central to that work and is typified by the extensive use of architectural salvage.
Hearing loops – why your venue should have one
Hearing loss is the second most common disability in the UK. The number of people affected is increasing and estimates suggest that by 2035, 15.6 million people in the UK will have hearing loss – that’s one in five of the population. Like every public building, places of worship and heritage venues should be accessible to people with hearing loss, as leading specialists in the field Contacta explain.
What is a hearing loop?
A hearing loop delivers the sound from a sound source such as a microphone, direct to a user’s hearing aids. It amplifies only the sound a listener wants to hear and not the background noise. It helps hearing aid users hear clearly in noisy environments or when they are far away from the sound source, and out of the effective listening range of their hearing aids.
Speech or music is picked up by the microphone and converted into a magnetic signal by an amplifier. The signal is transmitted towards users via a hearing loop aerial. This is often a ‘loop’ of cable around a room, or a small loop of wire contained underneath a counter in one-to-one situations.
The signal is then picked up by a telecoil within a user’s hearing aid or cochlear implant, which converts it back into sound.
The law
The Equality Act 2010 states that everyone should be treated equally. It replaces previous anti-discrimination laws, including the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).
In reference to the provision of hearing loops, the Act states that “Service providers are required to make changes, where needed, to improve services for disabled customers or potential customers… and to provide auxiliary aids and services (such as information in an accessible format, an induction loop for customers with hearing aids).”
The term “potential customers” is key. While venues might assume they don’t currently have anyone who needs a hearing loop, environments should be inclusive and accessible to all. Plus, it should be remembered that staff and volunteers can also benefit from assistive listening systems.
“For me, the experience of using the hearing loop was like going to ‘heaven’. I left feeling uplifted and positive.”
Places of Worship
Traditional places of worship are notorious for poor acoustics degrading the intelligibility of the spoken word. Ironically, for the hard of hearing we have largely solved the problem with the development and continuous improvement of induction loop systems.
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Regulations and standards
Part M of the Building Regulations 2010 provides guidance on complying with regulations that cover the access to and use of buildings. It states that to obtain the full benefit of situations such as discussions or performances “a person with hearing loss must receive a signal that is amplified in both volume and signal to noise ratio,” and provision must be made for a permanent system in larger spaces.
Requirements of Part M are only met if a hearing loop (also known as an induction loop), or alternatives such as a radio frequency or an infrared hearing enhancement system, is accompanied by signage, so those that need it know it is there.
BS 8300 is a code of practice compiled by the British Standards Institution detailing the required design of buildings for meeting the needs of disabled people.
Revisions in 2018 included specific reference to the needs of people with hearing loss, detailing where loops should be located, their installation, maintenance and staff training.
The common feature throughout both the law and the regulations is the need to offer an inclusive experience for people with hearing loss, to give them equal access and to ensure their safety; assistive listening systems are essential for emergency announcements and alarms as well as entertainment, worship and good customer service.
Testing and maintenance
Installing a hearing loop is only the first step. Systems should be regularly tested which can be done by staff with a small portable device known as a loop listener.
A maintenance plan, with annual visits from a qualified engineer, makes sure loops are performing to the correct standard. It also ensures venues continue to comply with the law and standards governing accessibility, and worshippers and visitors return because of the positive listening experience.
You can find out more about your specific requirements by contacting a loop system expert in your area and there is a selection in our online directory under Loop Systems - just click here.
Just to be clear: choose your speakers with care
Whether you’re a regular member of the congregation or attending a wedding, funeral or some other religious ceremony, there’s nothing more frustrating than having to struggle to understand what is being said. That was brought into sharp focus recently at St Mary the Virgin, in Whitley Bay, North Tyneside – a local church struggling with exactly that sort of sound issue. Complaints of distortion and patchy coverage were common among the congregation, leading to an urgent need for an overhaul of their sound system.
Click here to read the full story.
New AV system brings added life to services
In an era characterised by rapid technological advancements it is imperative for places of worship to adapt and evolve to meet the changing needs of their congregations. Putnoe Heights Methodist Church in Bedford has taken a commendable step in that direction by partnering with Scanaudio to install the NEC PA703W projector and Kramer VP-440X video switcher – ushering in a new era of multimedia capabilities that promise to enhance the worship experience for all.
Click here to read the full story.
Streaming service brings the church to all
In an age when technology seamlessly integrates with spirituality, St Elphege’s RC Church in Wallington, Surrey, has taken a significant step forward by partnering with Scanaudio to introduce a state-of-the-art web streaming service. The groundbreaking initiative aims to bridge the physical and digital realms of worship, allowing the congregation to connect with their faith, irrespective of physical presence.
Click here to read the full story.
Keeping it simple is the watchword for St Ann’s new system
Dating from the 1890s, St Ann’s Church in the Welsh seaside town of Rhyl now boasts thoroughly modern audio-visual systems – both in the church and the church hall – courtesy of Richard King Systems. The facilities now include upgraded sound systems, new audio loop systems, updated AV-projector systems, and comprehensive wi-fi coverage.
Click here to read the full story.
New church is blank canvas for sound system
The completion of The Lighthouse Church in Heswall, Wirral, is the culmination of a nine-year project to build the brand new church as a place of worship, service and hospitality. As the previous 1960s building was showing its age, with many things wrong that were going to be very expensive to fix, it was decided to create the building that was really needed.
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Contacta offers hearing access for all with new RX-30 rechargeable loop listener
Assistive listening specialists, Contacta Systems, have launched a new rechargeable loop listener, offering worshippers enhanced access to sound.
The RX-30 is a complete wireless receiver, designed to help people with hearing loss who don’t use a hearing aid or cochlear implant.
Click here to read the full story.
21st century sound for places of worship
Univox Audio have added the unique Activo Speaker series from Fulgor Service to their product range.
Ken Hollands, director at Univox Audio said: "With speech intelligibility at the core of everything we do, we are pleased to bring the unique speaker technology from Fulgor Service to the UK to help transform the service that our pro audio installers deliver to their customers."
Click here to read the full story.
Magnificent self-built church accessible to all
When the congregation of High Street Church in Cambridgeshire outgrew the 19th Century chapel, members decided to rebuild a larger church in 2008, entirely by themselves. Finding the skills necessary to build the place of worship from within the congregation, The Ark is believed to be one of the largest self-built projects in the UK.
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Iconic Liverpool building gains wireless FM assistive listening
Previously known as Great George Street Congregational Church, a £6m renovation saw this iconic building in Liverpool’s China Town converted into a community arts centre in 1975. Now known as the “The Black-E”, the management of the 19th century Grade II listed building asked Contacta to install a hearing loop in the main hall in 2021.
Click here to read the full story
Scanaudio provide induction loop at Temple Farm
Temple Farm is a new 84-acre UK headquarters for the International Bible Students Association (IBSA) located near Chelmsford, Essex. The site has up to 1,000 volunteer workers per day alongside a small number of outside sub-contractors and is professionally managed and run by the organisation.
Click here to read the full story.
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