Tag Archives: church stone repair

Considerate Contractor Scheme Award Winners

25th May 2022Latest NewsAll Saints Church, All Saints Church in Terling, Bakers of Danbury, builders, church, church builders, church conservation, church repair, church repairs, church restoration, church roof repairs, church stone repair, church stone replacement, Church works, Clive Totman 2022, clock face re gilding, clock face redecoration, conservation, Conservation and restoration, Considerate Contractor Scheme 2022 Awards, Considerate Contractor Scheme Award Winners, Considerate Contractor Scheme Awards, julian harrap architects, london mayor, london mayrors church, lord mayors election, oak church spire, oak shakes, oak shingles, oak shingling, printed debris netting, printed scaffold netting, replacement stone, roof repairs, roof timber repair, roof works, scaffold wrap, scafold wrap, Society for protected ancient buildings, SPAB London, spire restoration, st lawrence jewry, st lawrence jewry london, terling, The City of London, The City of London's Considerate Contractor Scheme 2022 Awards, The City of London's Considerate Contractor Scheme Award Winners 2022, The City of London's Considerate Contractor Scheme Awards 2022, wooden church spireRachel Finlay

We are delighted to announce that Bakers of Danbury has been awarded the Gold Award at The City of London's Considerate Contractor Scheme Awards 2022.

The City of London said the decision was based on the overall performance of all personnel working on behalf of Bakers of Danbury during the past year on the site (St Lawrence Jewry).

The Gold Award recognises that the requirements of the Code of Good Practice have been consistently exceeded. It reflects a spirit of pride, an awareness of the needs of the passing public and regard for the surrounding environment.

To find out more about the Considerate Constractor Scheme 2022 Awards click here.

Image: ©Clive Totman 2022

St Lawrence Jewry – Hard Hat Tour

18th May 2022Latest NewsAll Saints Church, All Saints Church in Terling, Bakers of Danbury, builders, church, church builders, church conservation, church repair, church repairs, church restoration, church roof repairs, church stone repair, church stone replacement, Church works, clock face re gilding, clock face redecoration, conservation, Conservation and restoration, julian harrap architects, london mayor, london mayrors church, lord mayors election, oak church spire, oak shakes, oak shingles, oak shingling, printed debris netting, printed scaffold netting, replacement stone, roof repairs, roof timber repair, roof works, scaffold wrap, scafold wrap, Society for protected ancient buildings, SPAB London, spire restoration, st lawrence jewry, st lawrence jewry london, terling, wooden church spireRachel Finlay

The SPAB members were allocated one of two tour times for which the attendees were split into three small groups. The tours took 1.5 hours during which the groups stopped at 6 points within the site. As St Lawrence Jewry was a working building site and the tours involved climbing up and walking along multiple lifts of scaffolding - which have a limited amount of space - it was essential that the tours were well organised to ensure the tour groups were able travel along their designated route without the risk of meeting one of the other groups.

The tour guides for the three hard hat tours were Julian Harrap, Andrew Coles and Judy Allen from Julian Harrap Architects. The SPAB members enjoyed a detailed guided tour around the vestibule, nave and on the nave roof to see works taking place.

During the tour the attendees found out about how the current repair and restoration works are sensitive to the late 17th century construction including both the traditional materials and the quality of workmanship and how the works were designed for longevity using materials with longer service lifespans to ensure the ongoing preservation of the building.

Some other interesting information the attendees were told during the hard hat tours also included; how the intricate carved stone was gently cleaned using a nebulous spray technique, Julian Harrap Architects’ theory on why the external ashlar stone was removed from the north elevation sometime after the 1940’s, and how Julian Harrap Architects calculated the strengths and weaknesses of the existing 1950's nave roof before Bakers of Danbury could carry out repairs, structural strengthening and re-roofing using heavier code 8 lead.

To find out more about repair and restoration works to St Lawrence Jewry, London click here.

Highly Commended: The King of Prussia Award 2021

5th November 2021Latest NewsBakers of Danbury, builders, chelmsford church builders, church, church builders, church clock repair, church conservation, church conservators, church repair, church repairs, church restoration, church roof repairs, church stone, church stone repair, church stone replacement, church structural, Church works, clock face re gilding, clock face redecoration, conservation, Conservation and repair works, Conservation and restoration, conservation student site visits, conservation students, EASA Awards 2021, essex church builders, front portico, Hackney Design Awards 2020, hard hat tour, has been shortlisted for the EASA King of Prussia award, Highly Commended, Highly Commended The King of Prussia 2021 Awards, King of Prussia 2021 Awards, nave roof repair, nave roof replacement, new slate roof, nicholas von preussen, north roof repair, oldest building in shoreditch, Portland stone façade, Prince of Prussia, printed debris netting, printed scaffold netting, profiled replacement stone indents, repair, replacement of the cast iron rainwater goods, replacement stone, roger mears architects, roof repairs, roof timber repair, roof works, scaffold wrap, scafold wrap, SPAB Repair of Old Buildings Course, specialist clock repair, spire restoration, St Leonard's Church in Shoreditch shortlisted for EASA The King of Prussia Gold Medal 2021, St Leonard's Church in Shoreditch shortlisted for EASA The King of Prussia Gold Medal and the Hackney Design Awards 2020, St Leonard’s Church Shoreditch, St Leonard’s West Façade project, stone masons, stone repair, stone template, strengthening, structural strengthening, templated stone, west façade, winnerRachel Finlay

We are delighted to announce that our recent conservation and repair project on the west façade of St Leonard's Church in Shoreditch has received The King of Prussia, Highly Commended at the prestigious EASA & National Churches Trust UK Church Architecture Awards.

The award was presented by Nicholas Von Preussen, Prince Nicholas of Prussia. It was collected by Sarah Khan, Partner at Roger Mears Architects and Adrian Ward Contract Manager for Bakers of Danbury Limited.

To read about the conservation and repair works to St Leonard’s Church which included the repair and strengthening of the front portico click here.

Shortlisted: The King of Prussia Gold Medal

27th October 2021Latest NewsBakers of Danbury, builders, chelmsford church builders, church, church builders, church clock repair, church conservation, church conservators, church repair, church repairs, church restoration, church roof repairs, church stone, church stone repair, church stone replacement, church structural, Church works, clock face re gilding, clock face redecoration, conservation, Conservation and repair works, Conservation and restoration, conservation student site visits, conservation students, EASA Awards 2021, essex church builders, front portico, Hackney Design Awards 2020, hard hat tour, has been shortlisted for the EASA King of Prussia award, nave roof repair, nave roof replacement, new slate roof, north roof repair, oldest building in shoreditch, Portland stone façade, printed debris netting, printed scaffold netting, profiled replacement stone indents, repair, replacement of the cast iron rainwater goods, replacement stone, roof repairs, roof timber repair, roof works, scaffold wrap, scafold wrap, SPAB Repair of Old Buildings Course, specialist clock repair, spire restoration, St Leonard's Church in Shoreditch shortlisted for EASA The King of Prussia Gold Medal 2021, St Leonard's Church in Shoreditch shortlisted for EASA The King of Prussia Gold Medal and the Hackney Design Awards 2020, St Leonard’s Church Shoreditch, St Leonard’s West Façade project, stone masons, stone repair, stone template, strengthening, structural strengthening, templated stone, west façadeRachel Finlay

We are delighted to announce that our recent conservation and repair project on the west façade of St Leonard's Church in Shoreditch has been shortlisted for the prestigious EASA & National Churches Trust The King of Prussia Gold Medal. The project was recently Commended in the Heritage and Restoration Category of the Hackney Design Awards 2020.

The judges for Hackney Design Awards said;

“The careful and conservative repair to the west façade of this Grade I listed church is highly commended by the judge as a great example of the “touch lightly” approach to historic building conservation.”

It was reported that the judges were impressed by the amount of original material that the project team were able to retain by their painstaking process or investigation and design of repairs.

To read about the conservation and repair works to St Leonard’s Church which included the repair and strengthening of the front portico click here.

The EASA and National Churches Trust The King of Prussia Gold Medal is due to be announced at the beginning of November 2021

St Leonard’s Church, Shoreditch

27th October 2021HeritageBakers of Danbury, builders, chelmsford church builders, church, church builders, church clock repair, church conservation, church conservators, church repair, church repairs, church restoration, church roof repairs, church stone, church stone repair, church stone replacement, church structural, Church works, clock face re gilding, clock face redecoration, conservation, Conservation and repair works, Conservation and restoration, conservation student site visits, conservation students, essex church builders, front portico, hard hat tour, nave roof repair, nave roof replacement, new slate roof, north roof repair, oldest building in shoreditch, Portland stone façade, printed debris netting, printed scaffold netting, profiled replacement stone indents, repair, replacement of the cast iron rainwater goods, replacement stone, roof repairs, roof timber repair, roof works, scaffold wrap, scafold wrap, SPAB Repair of Old Buildings Course, specialist clock repair, spire restoration, St Leonard’s Church Shoreditch, stone masons, stone repair, stone template, strengthening, structural strengthening, templated stone, west façadeRachel Finlay

Summary = Conservation and repair works to St Leonard’s Church, Shoreditch which included the repair and strengthening of the front portico, steeple and clocks.

Location = Shoreditch, London.

Awards = King of Prussia EASA & National Churches Trust UK Church Architecture Awards (Highly Commended) and Heritage and Restoration Category of the Hackney Design Awards 2020 (Commended).

Challenge = Victorian alterations has compromised the church's structural integrity.

Solution = St Leonard's Church in Shoreditch is a Grade I listed church constructed in brick with a Portland stone façade and dressings, and slate roofs. Built in 1740, it is one of the oldest buildings in Shoreditch and is well known for its tall steeple.

Alterations made to the church by the Victorians left its structural integrity compromised. The church also suffered war damage and later was placed on the Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register. Since the 1990’s various works have been carried out to rebuild the church closer to its original form and rectify problems caused by Victorian alterations and war damage.

In 2016 Bakers installed a new slate roof to the north and south aisles and nave. Roof works included carpentry repairs, repairs and replacement of the cast iron rainwater goods, leadwork, masonry repairs and redecoration.

In 2019 Bakers carried out further conservation and repair works to St Leonard’s Church which included the repair and strengthening of the front portico, 192 ft steeple and clocks.

Restoration to the front portico which sits on the west façade was necessary due to water penetration caused by blocked roof outlets, which had led to the rusting of previous iron repairs, and in turn caused the portico stonework to spall and crack. A new Portico roof was installed with copings and new lead gutters and flashings. Other repairs carried out to the rest of the west façade included stone cleaning and repairs which were made to the clock level. Where stone indents were found to be beyond repair, Bakers’ sister company Collins and Curtis Masonry Ltd templated, cut and profiled replacement stone indents in Portland Stone to match the existing. The clocks were repaired and restored by specialists, back to their former glory.

In October 2019 a SPAB Repair of Old Buildings Course visited site at St Leonard's Church to view the restoration and repair works taking place and take part in a Q&A session with Roger Meers Architects, Bakers of Danbury’s skilled craftsmen, and Thwaits & Reed, the clockmakers who were refurbishing the clock at the time.

Works carried out over the years has helped preserve St Leonards Church for future generations and finally as a result of recent conservation works, St Leonard’s Church was recently removed from Historic England's Heritage at Risk register.

The conservation and repair project at St Leonard's Church has received King of Prussia, Highly Commended at the prestigious EASA & National Churches Trust UK Church Architecture Awards as well as Commended in the Heritage and Restoration Category of the Hackney Design Awards 2020. The judges at the Hackney Design Awards 2020 said;

“The careful and conservative repair to the west façade of this Grade I listed church is highly commended by the judge as a great example of the “touch lightly” approach to historic building conservation.”

It was reported that the judges were impressed by the amount of original material that the project team were able to retain by their painstaking process or investigation and design of repairs.

St Lawrence Jewry, London

24th September 2021Latest NewsAll Saints Church, All Saints Church in Terling, Bakers of Danbury, builders, church, church builders, church conservation, church repair, church repairs, church restoration, church roof repairs, church stone repair, church stone replacement, Church works, clock face re gilding, clock face redecoration, conservation, Conservation and restoration, london mayor, london mayrors church, lord mayors election, oak church spire, oak shakes, oak shingles, oak shingling, printed debris netting, printed scaffold netting, replacement stone, roof repairs, roof timber repair, roof works, scaffold wrap, scafold wrap, spire restoration, st lawrence jewry, st lawrence jewry london, terling, wooden church spireRachel Finlay

St Lawrence Jewry, London

24th September 2021HeritageAll Saints Church, All Saints Church in Terling, Bakers of Danbury, builders, church, church builders, church conservation, church repair, church repairs, church restoration, church roof repairs, church stone repair, church stone replacement, Church works, clock face re gilding, clock face redecoration, conservation, Conservation and restoration, london mayor, london mayrors church, lord mayors election, oak church spire, oak shakes, oak shingles, oak shingling, printed debris netting, printed scaffold netting, replacement stone, roof repairs, roof timber repair, roof works, scaffold wrap, scafold wrap, spire restoration, st lawrence jewry, st lawrence jewry london, terling, wooden church spireRachel Finlay

Summary = Conservation and restoration works to St Lawrence Jewry, London, This project marks the largest phase of work to the building since the reconstruction by Cecil Brown in the 1950's.

Location = London

Awards = Considerate Contractor Scheme Awards 2022, Gold Medal

Challenge = The surviving Wren masonry suffers from heavy carbon staining and discoloration along with a pattern of defects

Solution = Under instruction from The City of London Corporation, Bakers recently started a large restoration project at St Lawrence Jewry, which stands in the yard of the Guildhall. The 18 month project is designed to return the Church to a sound state of repair and safeguard it for future generations.

St Lawrence Jewry, the official church of the Lord Mayor of the City of London, was first built in 1136 in the east end of London - the old Jewish quarter. It was rebuilt in 1677 by Christopher Wren after it was destroyed in the Great Fire of London, and reconstructed by Cecil Brown in 1957 after it was badly damaged in the Second World War.

Conservation and Restoration of St Lawrence Jewry, London

This project marks the largest phase of work to the building since the reconstruction by Cecil Brown in the 1950's. Many of the finishes to the roofs, gutters, cupola and spire date from then and are therefore towards the end of their service life, evidenced by the water ingress that has been an increasing problem in recent years. The surviving Wren masonry suffers from heavy carbon staining and discoloration along with a pattern of defects known as "corrosion jacking", caused by concealed iron cramps rusting, expanding and subsequently splitting and cracking the stonework.

Conservation and Restoration works

The Church remained open during phase one of the project. Phase one of works involved the cleaning and repair of the stone masonry elevations, tower and carved stonework; structural work, re-roofing and thermal upgrading of the lead covered Nave; re-roofing of the Commonwealth Chapel, Vicarage apartment and to the south-west of the tower; repairs to the timber framed, lead-clad cupola and spire; replacement of lead gutters and downpipes; overhaul, cleaning and repair of all stained and plain glass windows; replacement of lightning protection; and the repair and structural strengthening of decorative fibrous plaster ceilings, redecoration, repairs to the nave ceiling and commonwealth chapel and various upgrades to improve fire rating.

Phase two of works are currently underway and involve internal works including new mechanical and electrical installation, a fire rating upgrade and refurbishment of the vicarage & general office, renewal of boilers and flue arrangement, renewal of air handling unit and the renewal of the heating system.

In May 2022, a group of over 50 SPAB (Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings) members took part in a hard hat tour to find out more about the repair and restoration works Bakers of Danbury are currently carry out at St Lawrence Jewry in London. The tour guides for the three hard hat tours were Julian Harrap, Andrew Coles and Judy Allen from Julian Harrap Architects. The SPAB members enjoyed a detailed guided tour around the vestibule, nave and on the nave roof to see works taking place.

Bakers of Danbury received a Gold Award at The City of London's Considerate Contractor Awards. The City of London stated that decision was based on the overall performance of all personnel working on behalf of Bakers of Danbury during the past year on the site (St Lawrence Jewry).

This project won a Gold Medal at the Considerate Contractor Scheme Awards 2022

Church Masonry Repairs

29th July 2021HeritageAll Saints Church, All Saints Church in Terling, Bakers of Danbury, bell tower repair, brick repairs, builders, church, church bell tower, church builders, church conservation, church repair, church repairs, church restoration, church roof repairs, church stone repair, church stone replacement, Church works, clock face re gilding, clock face redecoration, conservation, Conservation and restoration, emergency church repairs, Emergency masonry repairs to church bell tower ruins, masonry repairs, oak church spire, oak shakes, oak shingles, oak shingling, replacement stone, roof repairs, roof timber repair, roof works, spire restoration, terling, wooden church spireRachel Finlay

Summary = Emergency masonry repairs to church bell tower ruins

Value = Approximately £30,000

Location = East Bergholt, Suffolk

Challenge = The construction of the bell tower began in 1525, but the construction stopped in 1530, due to Cardinal Wolsey's fall from grace and the Reformation. Bakers carried out the necessary emergency repair works in 2017 as the bell tower masonry, which is exposed to the weather, had suffered damage.

Solution = Bakers carried out consolidation to the masonry walls which consist mainly of flint. Repairs were carried out to the cracks and sections of the mortar capping on top of the walls. Bakers surveyed the walls for loose stones, and re-bed any loose stones identified. Loose mortar was removed, and repointing was carried out to make the masonry walls safe and weatherproof.

Bakers also carried out brick repairs to the tower door and laid reclaimed pamnent tiles to the floor which leads to the exposed staircase within the tower walls.

Union Chapel, London

9th April 2021HeritageAll Saints Church, All Saints Church in Terling, Bakers of Danbury, builders, church, church builders, church conservation, church repair, church repairs, church restoration, church roof repairs, church stone repair, church stone replacement, Church works, clock face re gilding, clock face redecoration, conservation, Conservation and restoration, oak church spire, oak shakes, oak shingles, oak shingling, replacement stone, roof repairs, roof timber repair, roof works, spire restoration, terling, wooden church spireRachel Finlay

Summary = Conservation works to the east window of the Union Chapel in London.

Value = Approximately £40,000

Location = London

Challenge = Secondary glazing has caused damage to the stained glass window.

Solution = Bakers of Danbury Ltd recently carried out conservation works to the east window of the Union Chapel in London. The beautiful stained glass window had opaque secondary glazing on the outside of the window, which not only prevented the sun shining through the window to show its decorative image, but had also caused damage to the stained glass.

Bakers removed the secondary glazing together with the debris which had gathered at the base of the window. The glass was cleaned and damaged stone was replaced with new indented carved sections of bath stone to match the existing stone.

By removing the secondary glazing and cleaning the glass, the beautiful, bright window has once again become a focal point for the Chapel.

Watch the video at the top of this page to hear about conservation works carried out to the east window of the Union Chapel.

Union Chapel remains on the Historic England At Risk Register, so if you would like to make a donation visit www.unionchapel.org.uk

St Nicholas Church, Harwich

11th March 2021HeritageAll Saints Church, All Saints Church in Terling, Bakers of Danbury, builders, church, church builders, church conservation, church repair, church repairs, church restoration, church roof repairs, church stone repair, church stone replacement, Church works, conservation, Conservation and restoration, Essex, replacement stone, Restoration to St Nicholas Church in Harwich, roof repairs, roof timber repair, roof works, spire restoration, st nicholas church in Harwich, stone window surrounds, terling, wooden church spireRachel Finlay

Summary = Restoration to St Nicholas Church in Harwich, Essex included repair to water damaged walls, brick and stone repair and replacement, re-pointing and window surround replacement.

Value = £60,000

Location = Harwich, Essex

Solution = Completed in December 2020, Bakers managed a four month project carrying out restoration to St Nicholas Church in Harwich, Essex. The existing cement render to the parapet walls was cracking and blown in places, and the damaged render was trapping moisture behind it, which was in turn decaying the walls. After the render was removed, deep re-pointing was carried out to the brickwork joints. The fractured and defective yellow stock bricks were replaced with reclaimed yellow stocks. A breathable three coat lime render was applied over the top of the brickwork down to stainless steel bell drips.

Bakers repaired the brick parapet walls and octagonal chimneys. Bakers' sister company Collins and Curtis supplied window surrounds to two cast iron tracery windows in Stoke Ground stone. The cast iron windows were redecorated and re-pointing was carried out to that section of the South Aisle.

Internally, Bakers stripped areas of water damaged plastered walls, caused by defective lead downpipes. Three coat lime lime plaster was applied and the walls were redecorated to match the existing decoration. Those defective downpipes were replaced.

The timber access door to the spire parapet was replaced with a new oak door manufactured by Bakers' in-house joinery workshop. Minor electrical works were also carried out.

Past Restoration Projects at St Nicholas Church

In 2010 Bakers carried out a full redecoration of the whole church and installed three stone windows to the east end. Earlier in 2003 Bakers carried out substantial stone replacement to the tower and spire.