News

Current Issue

To find excellence in restoration skills, go west!

For over a third of a century Ellis and Co Restoration and Building have been restoring and conserving historic buildings and structures across the South West of England and Wales. These much-loved buildings define the character of the South West, so contributing to their upkeep and repair is a source of satisfaction to the company’s 70-strong workforce. Ellis and Co are one of the largest heritage-specific employers in the region and they only work on historic and listed building projects.

Historic Suffolk windmill saved by English Heritage

The future of a celebrated piece of Suffolk heritage has been secured yesterday, as English Heritage hoisted a newly-constructed set of sails into place on the 18th-century Saxtead Green Post Mill near Framlingham. The reinstallation of the mill’s sails represents the culmination of a £250,000, year-long conservation project in collaboration with one of Suffolk’s last remaining specialist millwrights.

The project is the first part of a major investment in historic windmills by the conservation charity English Heritage, with Sibsey Trader Windmill in Lincolnshire and Berney Arms Windmill in Norfolk both scheduled for works over the next few years. Earlier this year, traditional millwrighting – a skill that has been practiced in the UK for more than 700 years – was added to the Heritage Crafts Association’s red list of critically endangered heritage crafts for the first time, with only a small number of people still practicing nationwide. English Heritage hopes that these important conservation works will help keep millwrighting alive.

Ecclesiastical makes grant to help support the next generation of stonemasons

Ecclesiastical Insurance has made a £12,500 grant to the Cathedrals’ Workshop Fellowship (CWF) to support the conservation and repair of UK Cathedrals.

Working with nine cathedrals across the UK, including Gloucester, Canterbury, York Minster and Salisbury Cathedral, and in collaboration with the University of Gloucestershire, the CWF offers stonemasons, carpenters, joiners and electricians a recognised career path and route to higher qualifications through a two-year, work-based study programme.

Corten sculptures - conservators are playing catch-up with preservation techniques

As Corten becomes increasingly popular for use in outdoor sculptures, conservators are playing catch-up with their preservation techniques. Peter Elliott of Nottingham-based All Steel Fabrications Ltd, specialists in the collaboration, fabrication and installation of Corten steel and other stainless steel sculptures, offers this valuable insight.

The way in which Corten is used throughout a sculpture is conditional on its production form, i.e. plate rod, flats or structural sections.

Ordinary steel surfaces can be treated after the work has been completed and sculptors have used everything from powder coating through to paint and acid etching.

Why live stream is now mainstream

0n8620 The restrictions around the COVID-19 pandemic have led to many churches venturing into the online world in a much more comprehensive way than before. While most churches have had some kind of online presence and the Church of England has it’s a Church Near You site, the live streaming of services has become much more common. And modern AV equipment is perfectly suited to communicating via the internet.

Are Britain’s heritage attractions child-friendly?

Research commissioned by specialist heritage insurer, Ecclesiastical, has revealed just under a third (31%) of parents never visit stately homes and just under 1 in 7 (15%) never visit castles with their children.

Cost and distance to travel are the top two reasons that prevent parents from taking their children to stately homes and castles. While a perception that stately homes are not child-friendly and a lack of quality changing facilities at castles complete the top three.

Restoration of John Skeaping statues

Recently Houghtons of York completed the restoration of three statues – each over six feet tall and carved by John Skeaping, the husband to Barbra Hepworth for six years and well-renowned carver who is best known for his work in stone and equestrian pieces.

They were the artist’s last large scale commission and were carved from Nigerian Opepe for Kings College Cambridge – below left is a historic photo of them stood in place.

Are you considering improved lighting? Discuss the options with Anthony J Smith (Glos) Ltd

St Wilfrid’s RC Parish Church in Preston city centre is a Grade Two*-listed Jesuit church which draws a substantial number of worshippers throughout the week. It is basilican in form and Italianate in style, with a particularly ornate and impressive interior carried out in exotic materials. Frank Roberts of Preston-based Francis Roberts Architects said of the interior: “Ranks of giant columns of polished Shap granite, topped with gilded composite capitals, define the nave, which terminates in a semi-domed and coffered apse. The aisle walls are lined in rich marbles and mosaics and there is an impressive display of stained glass.”

Specialist work inside Scone Palace chapel restores historic alabaster monument

Specialist work to restore the intricate alabaster monument in Scone Palace's gothic chapel has been completed. A four week project, this is the first time the monument has undergone restoration work since 1921.

The work inside the small Presbyterian chapel, which looks upon the famous replica Stone of Scone on Moot Hill, has been completed by a specialist mason after a report by a conservation architect identified a number of areas requiring restorative work on the monument.

The Historic Buildings Parks & Gardens Event 2019

Entrance to this major heritage conservation day is free of charge. The event - to be held at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Westminster on Tuesday 12th November - is all about the care, repair, conservation, maintenance, preservation and restoration of historic buildings, their contents and surrounding landscapes.

The all-day exhibition will consist of 75 exhibitors offering advice, solutions, guidance and support, as well as a wide and diverse range of products and services. Ranging from the traditional to cutting edge technology and across all areas of historic building and landscape conservation.

Preserving traditional buildings: it’s a matter of application

At Suffolk-based Rickards Period Plastering Ltd they feel fortunate to have the opportunity to be working in an area of the country that has a wealth of unique architectural design, using what they feel is a special product: the chalky lime plaster and render. Here, Mike Rickards shares his enthusiasm for traditional plasters.

New tool for live broadcasting Mass

0n8614

Belltron Ireland & UK Ltd are pleased to introduce you to the new Belltron BST-3000, a useful, NO SUBSCRIPTION, tool for broadcasting live Mass. Belltron has developed its own ISAC (Internet Speech Audio Codec) system offering parishioners who are unable to attend the celebrations the opportunity to listen to all liturgies live or deferred. This device is a useful tool for the priest to stay in touch with their community and for parishioners to continue to feel part of the community, if they can't attend church.

The BST-3000 is particularly simple to manage for the parish priest:

INSTALL the BST-3000 by plugging it into your PA AUX and connect it to your WiFi or 4G
connection.
TURN ON and you are live.

Parishioners just have to:

Download the Belltron Streaming APP to mobile phone, tablet or PC
Select their parish
The days mass/service will now be available to listen to until the next mass/service takes place.

EXCELLENT AUDIO QUALITY
NO SUBSCRIPTION COSTS
In the absence of an ADSL/WiFi connection a 4G mobile connection cann also be used.

Price: £2700.00 (€3000.00) + VAT.

Visit the website www.belltron.co.uk

New church building is an award-winner

On 12 May 1894 a parcel of land on Elizabeth Road in Caterham – now Francis Road – was purchased at a cost of £32, for a new church building to be called Oak Hall. The church building was completed during July and August at a cost of £206, and opened on Thursday 13 September of that year.

Fast forward 125 years and there is a new Oakhall church building in the heart of the Caterham community – a building which has been named South East Regional Winner in the 2019 LABC Building Excellence Awards in the Best Public Service Building category.

Page 40 of 121

Start
Prev
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
Next
End

Leaderboard Banners