T h e R e c c l e s i a R e v i e w
Transcription
T h e R e c c l e s i a R e v i e w
The Recclesia Review A review of the specialist projects and conservation contracts carried out by Recclesia Ltd in 2009 / 2010 The Medieval Preaching Cross The William Morris Tree of Life Window Coronation Park, Ormskirk St Mary's Church Eardisland St George's Terrace Georgian Fanlights Middlewich Primary School Paxton's Fernery at Tatton Park Titanic Survivor's Home Restored, Port Sunlight Worden Park, Leyland |2| The Recclesia Review Welcome to the Recclesia Review Last year was a busy one for Recclesia and it was tough deciding which of the eighty four projects we carried out made it into our annual review. We have had such an exciting twelve months and it has really flown by. We moved into our new purpose built offices, workshops and studio space in April and haven't looked back - it has given the company scope to develop its traditional skills in a modern and clean environment whilst helping us to operate more efficiently. The projects that we have carried out this year are as many as they are varied. The beginning of the year saw us at Tatton Park in Cheshire, re-glazing Joseph Paxton's Fernery in mouth blown cylinder glass. At the same time, our masons were down in Herefordshire restoring the C14th preaching cross at St Alkmund's Church in Aymestrey. As part of Bolton's Townscape Heritage Initiative, we were commissioned to restore two original Georgian fanlights and using those, reproduce seventeen new fanlights for the entire terrace of nineteen listed townhouses. This was closely followed by us being called into restore the stunning William Morris Tree of Life window at St Cybi's Church Holyhead, which was smashed in thirty seven places and in a highly fragile state. September saw us carrying out traditional skills demonstrations at Nantclwyd House in Ruthin and at the Dr. Evan Pierce Memorial Garden in Denbigh as part of Denbighshire County Council's Heritage "Open Doors" Weekends. Attendance was high, with hundreds of people being shown stonemasonry, lime plastering and stained glass restoration skills under the blazing sun of the late summer. Later on in the year we started work at Coronation Park in Ormskirk where well-known artist, designer and sculptor Stephen Broadbent had been commissioned by West Lancashire Borough Council to design new entrances in natural stone and intricately forged metalwork. At the same time, we also undertook the restoration of the North Entrance to Worden Park in Leyland for South Ribble Borough Council, a grand masonry and metalwork restoration project (most of which took place in a foot of snow). Parks became a bit of a theme, as we also restored the Victorian stone entrance to Fulwood Park in Liverpool. Church works were of course the bulk of our work during the year. The project at Grade I listed St Mary's Church in Eardisland, Herefordshire, was perhaps the most interesting as it involved use of all of our various in-house traditional skills. St Paul's in Wrexham, where we restored every window in the building was also notable as a good example of preventative conservation work. We are currently working on a number of very exciting contracts including a new stained glass commission for a new Roman Catholic chapel in Middlewich, and a second commission for Llanasa Parish Church in North Wales, church contracts including St Helen's in Penisar'Waun, Llanberis, All Saints in St. Helens and St Nicholas' in Henley on Thames. The year ahead is looking busy, with some great new projects starting soon. If you can't wait until next year's review, keep an eye on our website which we keep up to date with all of our latest project news. All that remains is for us to thank all of our clients for choosing to use us, and to our new clients offer our warmest welcome. Jamie Moore Jamie is Managing Director at Recclesia Ltd and holds an MSc in Historic Building Conservation and a BA (Hons) in History from Southampton University. He has been working in the building conservation sector since 1998 and has both worked on and managed many restoration and conservation projects and has a thorough understanding of traditional skills, building techniques and architectural styles. Jamie lives in Shropshire, is married to an Ecologist and is an accomplished pianist. Inside This Issue The C14th Preaching Cross, Aymestrey Coronation Park, Ormskirk St Mary's Church, Eardisland St Georges Terrace Fanlight Project, Bolton The William Morris Tree of Life Window, Holyhead Joseph Paxton's Fernery at Tatton Park Stained Glass Commission - Middlewich RC Primary Fulwood Park, Liverpool & Worden Park, Leyland Titanic Survivor's Home Restored, Port Sunlight Traditional Skills Demonstrations, Denbighshire Company Details & Contact Information 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 11 12 The Recclesia Review |3| Investigative Foundation Work Base & Shaft as Found Each Course Laid Out The Base Partially Rebuilt St Alkmund's Preaching Cross HEREFORD'S MEDIEVAL MASONRY CONSERVED Client: The PCC of St Aulkmund's Church Aymestrey, Hereford Conservation Architect: John Wheatley Project Synopsis: Recclesia were contracted to undertake the careful rebuilding of the medieval Preaching Cross at Grade I Listed St. John the Baptist and St. Alkmunds Church in Aymestrey, Herefordshire. The historic masonry structure was suffering from quite severe settlement causing it to sink and tilt at a dangerous angle. It was dealt a final blow by churchyard vandals who pushed the cross over, smashing several sections of the fifteen-foot high monument as it tumbled to the ground. English Heritage funded the project and their research revealed records citing a structure at that location in medieval times and further analysis showed that the column supporting the cross was superimposed onto the earlier masonry during the sixteen hundreds. By 2009, the Preaching Cross masonry was very badly eroded and almost every section had delaminated, moved or vanished altogether. Through a careful process of groundwork investigation, the foundations of the structure were revealed to show rudimentary rubble foundations which had failed and left sections of the structure unsupported. The base and plinth wee recorded as they stood, every section numbered and marked, then taken apart and laid out in sequence. Each section of stone was painstakingly repaired piece by piece using stainless steel pins and dowels. New foundations were dug under an archaeological watch and the process of rebuilding carried out, ensuring that every section of the original masonry was put back in the location from which it came. The result of the conservation work has received praise from the PCC, English Heritage and conservation architect John Wheatley, all of whom were extremely impressed with Recclesia's workmanship and dedication to conservation standards. More photos are available online at www.recclesia.com |4| The Recclesia Review Natural Stone Awards 2010 Nominated Project Coronation Park Ormskirk C O NTE M PO RARY NATU RAL STO N E E NTRAN C E S Client: West Lancashire Borough Council Architect: Stephen Broadbent Project Synopsis: Designed by well-known artist and sculptor Stephen Broadbent, this impressive masonry feature stands at the heart of the town centre and at the entrance to the town's popular urban green space, Coronation Park. The design consisted of a large curved wall, flanked by tall carved posts some four metres in height. Further posts stand independently, leading to a second wall with semi-circular base, carved lettering and commemorative bronze work. Tying the tallest posts together is a giant, curved and intricately designed ironwork feature. A highspecification hidden LED lighting system was brought in from the USA by Recclesia and was incorporated into the radius coping, providing a stunning effect after dark. The stone selected is from the Woodkirk Stone Quarry in Leeds, with whom Recclesia worked closely to ensure that the designs on paper turned into a reality on site. The stonework was produced and fixed using traditional techniques and all of the detailing was hand carved. The masonry sections were of considerable size but the detailing was quite delicate, meaning that every stage of the build had to be carefully planned to ensure that the handling of such large stones was carried out in a controlled way. The project has been very well received by the people of Ormskirk and will take pride of place in the town centre for generations to come. The Recclesia Review |5| St Mary's Church Eardisland C 1 4 EAS T W I N D O W MAS O N R Y , S TAI N E D G LAS S & F E R RAM E N TA Client: The Church Commissioners Church House, London Conservation Architect: Lesley Lloyd Project Synopsis: St. Mary's Church in Eardisland, Herefordshire, is noted as being one of the most outstanding buildings in the county and is Grade I listed, being of national significance. There is certainly no questioning the antiquity of the building. The Nave was built in the 1100s and the Tower and Chancel followed in the 1300s. The Tower collapsed in 1728 and the one that stands on the site today was rebuilt in 1760. An extensive restoration of the church was undertaken in 1864 under Henry Curzon, an architect out of London, costing some £2,000 (£86,000 by today's standards). Following identification of severe weathering and delamination of the masonry to the East Window by conservation architect Lesley Lloyd, Recclesia were awarded the contract to carry out masonry conservation and restoration work to the 14th century tracery work, the stained glass window and the wrought iron ferramenta. All of the work was carried out inhouse by Recclesia, including the restoration of the 1901 Burlesson and Grylls stained glass window and ferramenta, all of which was removed to the studio in Chester for specialist conservation work. The stone selected for the new sections of tracery was the Mottled Hollington from Staffordshire Stone which was similar in consistency, porosity, appearance and weathering characteristics to the original stone used. Recclesia masons carefully propped and cut out the irreparable sections of tracery and inserted new replacement sections. After inspection, several sections were considered to be candidates for conservation work rather than replacement, involving a very delicate repair technique whereby very small stainless steel pins were inserted to hold the masonry together. Indent repairs were also carried out in some places, and the weather-shedding properties of the masonry restored using a lime mix made up by Limegreen Ltd after special analysis of the masonry and the original pointing mix. More photos are available online at www.recclesia.com |6| The Recclesia Review St Georges Terrace Bolton D E C O RATI V E G E O R G IAN FAN LI G HT PR O J E CT Client: Corporate Developments Conservation Architect: Pickard Finlason Project Synopsis: Recclesia were commissioned to undertake specialist works to a terrace of nineteen Grade II listed Georgian townhouses in Bolton as part of the Townscape Heritage Initiative by Bolton Council. Originally, all nineteen properties had decorative arched fanlights above each front door, but only two of these fanlights remained. The objective was to achieve a more uniform appearance to the terrace frontage by restoring the two original lights and to use this process to investigate how they had been put together. workshops where conservation specialists began the process of stripping back the lights in order to conserve each individual element whilst the timber frames in which they sat were repaired. Recclesia were charged with producing designs showing how new fanlights could be produced in the same way as the old fanlights. Staff also researched and trialed various traditional methods of production in order to ensure that the designs were feasible. The originals were removed from the building and returned to the The decorative lead sections were cast in-house using moulds. These moulds were made using a combination of techniques depending on the shape required. The larger sections were produced using vulcanised rubber moulds, specially made for Recclesia in Ireland. The smaller sections were produced using casts made out of dental plaster and carved oak. The long lengths of astragal lead were milled to order in Rotherham. The subframe was produced by Recclesia using guillotined stainless steel which was cut paper thin to ensure that the delicate outline of each vertical section was not compromised. The fanlights were glazed using mouth-blown cylinder glass, which completed the traditional appearance of the new lights. More photos of the project are online at www.recclesia.com The Recclesia Review |7| Stainless Steel Guards Installed on Completion The Releading Stripped Down Onto Rubbings Drawing up Conservation Records The William Morris Tree of Life Window S TAI N E D G LAS S R E S C U E AT S T C Y B I ' S H O LY H EAD Client: The PCC of St Cybi's Church Church Architect: Adam Voelcker Project Synopsis: Recclesia's Stained Glass Studio is well known for its stained glass expertise, so when one of the most unusual stained glass windows in North Wales needed examining we were the first to be called upon. The William Morris Tree of Life window in the Stanley Chapel at St Cybi's Church in Holyhead on Anglesey is a major tourist attraction. Commissioned by a Muslim family for a Christian building, the window is unique in not depicting any characters or animals. Instead, the entire window is given to the Tree of Life or the Jesse Tree, which fills the glass with rich foliage in sumptuous greens and pomegranates in pink and deep orange. After a hundred and twenty years in place facing the North Sea, the window had started to deteriorate to the point at which glass was breaking and being lost forever. Several sections were completely missing, and our report identified thirty seven broken pieces of painted glass. To add to this, the lead came matrix holding the glass together had deteriorated to the point at which the window was moving, rattling in the wind and letting the weather in. Without a moment to lose, specialists from Recclesia were called in to carry out extensive work to the window, which had to be removed piece by piece from the church and returned to the studio where the painstaking process of repair was undertaken. The window was exposed to several methods of conservation treatment, all of which were non-invasive and reversible. The entire window was stripped down and cleaned by hand and all of the broken glass was put back together using reversible edgebonding techniques. The sections that were missing entirely were filled with new painted images which were established using church records and old photographs. Many days were spent making glass to exactly match the colour tone and texture of the original glass, which was then painted by our artist and fired in the kiln at the studio. The window was then rebuilt using new lead came. The project was recorded in full by way of conservation rubbings and computerised scans with legends, along with a full photographic record throughout with additional images taken using a digital microscope attached to a computer. The stained glass window was reinstated just before Christmas and has been described as both breathtaking and mesmerizing. On completion, Recclesia fabricated and installed new powder coated stainless steel approved guards to the external face to ensure the security and longevity of this beautiful historic glass. |8| The Recclesia Review Joseph Paxton's Fernery at Tatton Park R E G LAZ I N G P R O J E C T AT NAT I O NAL T R U S T ' S F E R N E R Y Client: The National Trust & Cheshire West Council Conservation Architect: Purcell Miller Tritton Project Synopsis: In 1850 William Tatton Egerton employed Joseph Paxton, the creator of Crystal Palace, to design a Fernery and an Italian Garden for Tatton Park. The mature gardens that we see there today are the result of his work and are currently cared for by a collaboration of the National Trust and Cheshire West Council. The Fernery is known today for being part of one of the most important glasshouses in the UK and is home to a vast variety of ferns and tropical plants. Following years of patching up, Recclesia were asked to carry out extensive glazing restoration to the whole structure. There were broken panes of glass all over the glasshouse which posed a threat to the delicate plants beneath, not to mention the danger of glass falling onto visitors. Each pane of glass is over two feet square, and some one hundred and twenty were broken, spread across the canopy. The work took place whilst the park remained open and the delicate flora remained in place. Recclesia teamed up with Nationwide Access who surveyed the site and provided us with several different machines to reach the difficult angles without danger of smashing further glass although our hearts were in our mouths whilst operating the machine! The restoration work was carried out using only mouth-blown cylinder glass to match the original glass and we used some 250 square feet in the process. The glass was imported directly from Germany, where some of the finest blown glasses are currently being produced. More photos of the project are online at www.recclesia.com The Recclesia Review |9| Commission: The Rainbow Window N E W S TAI N E D G LAS S W I N D O W AT M I D D LE W I C H R C P R I MAR Y S C H O O L Client: St. Mary's RC Primary School Project Synopsis: Recclesia was approached to submit designs for a new stained glass window at St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School in Middlewich where work was about to start on the construction of a brand new extension. Part of the new building was a chapel which wrapped around the side of the building with a large curved outer wall with six floor to ceiling windows. The design brief was confident in its requirements - the school wanted a traditionally leaded stained glass window with a rainbow running through all six panels of glass and the building inspector wanted the windows to perform to current standards by encapsulation of the traditional glass inside toughened, gas-filled double-glazed units. Recclesia head, Jamie Moore, produced several designs for submission to the school board, which had requested designs and costs from three firms. Jamie's modern and abstract designs were chosen and Recclesia was commissioned to produce the window to meet a very tight build schedule to ensure that the window was ready to be installed to meet with the building programme. Jamie produced full size cartoons of the window, which were produced to the school and signed off for production. Glass was carefully selected from a variety of manufacturers, including Lamberts, St Just and Schott. The colours used were of particular importance to the school, who wanted a bright, unapologetic palette to reflect the hope and optimism conveyed by the symbolism of the rainbow. At the same time, we were very careful to select glass types that would pick up the light properly and appear full of life. Some eighteen hundred sections of glass and seven thousand solder joints later, each panel was encapsulated into modern units. The building process was completed in ten weeks and the windows were installed on time on the very last day of the build as planned. The finished installation has had a huge impact on the new building, transforming the chapel into a colourful and wonderful space. | 10 | T h e R e c c l e s i a R e v i e w Worden Park Leyland & Fulwood Park Liverpool R E STO RATI O N O F TW O V I CTO R IAN PAR K E NTRAN C E S Client at Worden Park: South Ribble Borough Council Project Synopsis: Worden Park is an historic park in Leyland, Lancashire, established by the Farington family of nearby Shaw Hall in the 1800s. The park holds the prestigious Green Flag award, noting it as one of the best green spaces in the UK. The North Entrance to the park is Grade II Listed. It is a large masonry structure of some presence with decorative metalwork and an intricately carved facade in a mixture of architectural styles. The restoration project involved extensive masonry conservation and repair, together with the restoration of long runs of cast iron railings. Several sections of railing were missing and Recclesia commissioned a specialist foundry in Scotland to copy and cast new replacement sections. Recclesia masons and metalworkers worked through some of the worst weather we have seen for a long time, with much of the site being under several feet of snow for the most part! South Ribble Council were very impressed with our management of the contract and the high standard of the completed work. More photos of the project are online at www.recclesia.com Client at Fulwood Park: Bidvest Europe Project Synopsis: Re c c l e s i a ' s S m a l l Wo r k s t e a m completed remedial works to the entrance at Fulwood Park in Liverpool in late Summer. Following an accidental meeting with a juggernaught, the 16-foot high monolithic columns at the entrance were left teetering on their bases with damage to the stonework and decorative ironwork. The gigantic columns were all of one single piece of stone and were far too big to be handled by anything but a crane. Recclesia teamed up with Bob Francis Cranes in order to lift the 4tonne columns back into position following repair work. Metalworkers from Recclesia's Chester workshops effected repairs to the decorative wrough iron and reinstated it on site whilst masons carried out indent repairs in Hollington Stone to the columns. Both the client and the insurance company were very pleased with the work. More photos of the project are online at www.recclesia.com T h e R e c c l e s i a R e v i e w | 11 | Titanic Survivor's Home Restored TI M B E R F RAM E R E PAI R S Project Synopsis: Following a survey revealing significant problems with the timber frame part of the building, Recclesia was awarded th conract to carry out timber frame repairs, plasterwork repairs and the redecoration of this stunning example of the planned village architecture at Port Sunlight Village on the Wirral. The village itself was built by the Lever Brothers for the workers in their soap factory next door. The village was named after their best selling soap brand, Sunlight. Today, the village is a major tourist attraction looked after by the Port Sunlight Village Trust, for whom Recclesia has carried out a number of contracts over the last year. This particular building was of considerable historical interest due to the story of its former resident, one Mrs Elizabeth May Leather, one of the few survivors of the Titanic disaster. The Encyclopedia Titanica states that Mrs Elizabeth Leather, 41, was born in Liverpool. When she signedon to the Titanic on 6 April 1912 she gave her address as 28 Park Road, Port Sunlight, Liverpool. Her last ship had been the Olympic. As a stewardess she received monthly wages of £3 10s. At the time of the collision she was asleep in her berth and was not awakened by the impact, instead she awoke some three quarters of an hour later. She found as she made her way to see to her passengers that they had already abandoned their quarters, so she proceeded on up to B deck. She was rescued in lifeboat sixteen. This extraordinary story behind the building is one of the reasons why so many people visit the village, the entirety of which is designated Grade II Listed. More photos and information about the many projects we have completed at Port Sunlight is available at www.recclesia.com Traditional Skills Demonstrations D E N B I G H S H I R E ' S H E R ITAG E ' O PE N D O O R S ' W E E K E N D S In September, Recclesia held four days of traditional skills demonstrations as part of Denbighshire County Council's Heritage 'Open Doors' Weekends, during which the doors of some of the county's finest historic buildings were thrown open to the public. The scheme is very popular and we supported the event by showing off a variety of traditional skills including stonemasonry and the use of lime mortars. We even set up our own stained glass studio under a canvass roof and rebuilt salavaged stained glass panels with a lively running commentary. The events were held in both Denbigh and Ruthin. In Denbigh, we were at the Dr Evan Pierce Memorial Gardens which were extensively restored in 2007. In Ruthin, we were in the wonderful gardens at the stunning Nantclwyd Y Dre, the well known 15th Century timber-framed mansion house at the centre of the town. Both weekends were very well attended and we talked until we were hoarse to many hundreds of people about our skills and about the work we carry out. Denbighshire CC have asked Recclesia to carry out the same demonstrations again in Denbigh and Ruthin next September and we hope to see you there! Recclesia Ltd An experienced team of conservation professionals & highly skilled staff Recclesia Specialist Building Works Recclesia Stained Glass Principal Contractors Building Conservation & Restoration Church Building Specialists Listed & Historic Buildings Traditional Skills In-House CITB Registered Constructionline Registered Conservation & Restoration Commissions & Design Work Leaded Lights & Restoration Glazing Histoglass - Approved Installers Surveys & Reports Metalwork Restoration Protective Guards www.recclesia.com www.recclesiastainedglass.com Recclesia Small Works Recclesia Fanlights Smaller Projects & Minor Works Maintenance Work Cyclical Work Investigative Work & Fabric Analysis Attendance on Architects for Quinquennials and Inspections Decorative Fanlight Restoration Contemporary Fanlights Bespoke Or Reproduction Designs Lead Casting & Moulding Milled Lead Sections Cylinder Glass Glazing www.recclesia.com/smallworks www.recclesiafanlights.co.uk Principal Contractor Listed Buildings Historic Buildings Church Works Surveys & Reports Design & Advice Stonemasonry, Masonry Conservation & Restoration, Specialist Cleaning Lime Pointing, Plasterwork and Decorative Mouldings Joinery, Timber Frame Repairs & Timber Conservation Current Contracts St Nicholas Church, Henley on Thames Stained Glass Restoration. Fabrication and Installation of Window Guard Historic & Decorative Plasterwork The King's School, Chester Tower masonry cleaning (TORC / DOFF) and masonry conservation to statuary Traditional Paints & Limewash St Helens Church, Penisar'Waun Masonry Restoration, Repointing, Cast Iron Rainwater Goods, Roofing, Leaded Light Repairs & Installation of Stainless Steel Protective Window Guards Recclesia Stained Glass www.recclesiastainedglass.com Hulme Hall, Port Sunlight (Phase II, Phase I Completed in 2009) Restoration of Metal Casements and Leaded Lights Recclesia fanlights www.recclesiafanlights.com St Mary's Church, Whitegate Installation of Tower Fall Arrest System All Saints Church, St Helens (Phase II, Phase I Completed in 2009) Restoration of Stained Glass and Leaded Lights and Installation of Window Guards Reproduction Fanlights, Islington, London Re-creation of Georgian Fanlights Christ Church, Alsager Stained Glass Conservation & Installation of Secondary Glazing Mellor Parish Church, Stockport Metalwork Fabrication & Restoration Rectory Road Chapel, Upton upon Severn, Worcester Restoration of masonry & lime pointing to boundary walls www.recclesia.com Llanasa Parish Church Stained Glass Commission - Two Pictorial Windows to the West End All of our latest news and project updates are available online, along with an extensive portfolio of completed contracts, company details, downloads and approvals. A Fully Registered, Pre-Qualified and Vetted Contractor constructionline citb construction skills Registered Contractor @recclesia You can also keep up to date on our day to day news by following us on twitter. Contact Details CHESTER OFFICE: Unit 3, St. Ives Way, Sandycroft, Chester CH5 2QS Tel: 01244 906002 Fax: 01244 906003 www.recclesia.com admin@recclesia.com WORCESTER OFFICE: 4, Triangle Business Centre, Wildwood Drive, Worcester WR5 2QX Tel: 01905 783002 Fax: 01244 906003 www.recclesia.com admin@recclesia.com Corporate Members & Supporters of The Georgian Group The Listed Property Owners Club The World Wildlife Fund Sponsors of an Acre of Rainforest