We are delighted to announce that two of Bakers' recent projects have been awarded at the DAC Design Awards 2022. The redecoration project at St Bartholomew Church in Wickham Bishops received Highly Commended, and the recent new build extension to St Mary's Church in Wivenhoe received a Commended award.
To find out more about the DAC Design Awards 2022click here.
Summary = Church redecoration and repair to St Bartholomew Church in Wickham Bishops
Location = Wickham Bishops, Essex
Awards = DAC Design Awards Scheme 2022 (Highly Commended)
Solution = Bakers recently carried out the ornate decoration of the church to St Bartholomew in Wickham Bishops.
St Bartholomew’s is Grade II listed and is a fine example of Victorian Gothic church architecture. The church was built in 1850 by Sarah Leigh in memory of her father, the Reverend. Thomas Leigh who was Rector from 1803 to 1843. The church was designed by Ewin Christian and is built of Kentish Ragstone and Caen stone. It replaces the redundant St Peter’s church to the west, over the disused railway line. The 120 foot high spire is a local landmark visible from the A12.
This project won Highly Commended at the DAC Design Awards Scheme 2022
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
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 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.
Summary = Major repair and strengthening work carried out to the church wall
Location = Holy Trinity Church in Halstead
Challenge = The challenge was digging the pockets in between the trees as the trees prevented the digger from being able to get to where it needed to excavate. Bakers of Danbury carried out hand digging where the trees prevented access for the digger. Bakers also adjusted some of the placements to achieve equally spaced ties.
Solution = To repair and strengthen the wall Bakers of Danbury dug ten 1.2m3 pockets along the length, to the back of the 36m churchyard boundary wall. The pockets were poured with concrete which was cast around 1.6m long stainless steel rods. The rods had been inserted through the wall. On the wall face they were tied and bolted to steel pattress plates.
To provide additional reinforcement, two lengths of Helifix reinforcing ties, set in resin were inserted along the face of the wall, extending the whole 36m length.
Cllr Mick Radley, Mayor and Chairman of Halstead Town Council said;
“I’m really pleased that the council has taken action to conduct major repair work to the Holy Trinity Church boundary wall and to recognise the excellent work that has been done. The wall has been leaning for a number of years and the recent repair work has now strengthened the wall along its length to hold it in place.
This work was conducted as part of the Town Council’s obligations to maintain closed churchyards and was funded from financial reserves specifically allocated to the work. Design work was commissioned to The Morton Partnership and the repair work to Bakers of Danbury Heritage Ltd. I would like to thank all of those involved with the repair for the excellent work they have done and with minimum disruption to the community.”
To keep up to date on similar conservation projects carried out by Bakers of Danbury visit our Latest News page or the Bakers of Danbury Facebook page.
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.
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
.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.
Works are underway and scaffold wrap is going up around our restoration project at St Lawrence Jewry in London. To find out more about the project visit www.bakersofdanbury.co.uk
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.
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.
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).
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.
This project won a Gold Medal at the Considerate Contractor Scheme Awards 2022
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