North – Summer 2016
Wythenshawe Hall an Elizabethan Hall besieged by Cromwell’s Parliamentarian troops in the winter of 1643 (and more recently by an arsonist) suffered a major fire in March. Resultant water penetration from the badly damaged roof threatened the historic timber structures, the panelled rooms and fine plaster ceilings. The properties of the ancient English Oak used in the main hall have not surprisingly proved robust. H+R Rothound Sam was deployed on site in July and will probably revisit later in the year as part of the management strategy for damage limitation and repair
H+R are assisting Laing O’Rourke and other major developers on contemporary timber framed buildings for hospital, educational and multi-occupancy urban regeneration schemes on Teeside and in Greater Manchester. H+Rs skills in defect detection and in the planning of strategic remediation are being used to maintain continued building use and to maximise asset value retention
In York, H+R are providing advice on conservation and refurbishment of the graceful crescent of St Leonard’s Place overlooking York’s spectacular Minster and undergoing a £25M redevelopment as luxury homes. A little further south in Yorkshire, H+R have continued to provide specialist advice on the repair and management of timber and masonry structures in Robert Adam’s Nostell Priory
In the centre of Edinburgh, works to repair and refurbish Henry Playfair’s 18th century masterpiece, the Law Schools building, is progressing with advice on the repair and retention of historic timber structures from H+R
In Derby, H+R are providing specialist risk management investigations on the decorative plaster ceilings to the Grade II listed Magistrates Court
In Nottingham, H+R are installing an environmental monitoring system at the Exchange Arcade to assist with monitoring water ingress behind some hand painted murals
At Holme Eden Hall, Cumbria where the lower ground floors were inundated by the nearby River Eden in the winter of 2015/16, H+R Rothounds Sam and Yan have recently been deployed to assist with the sensitive conservation management of residual moisture and dry rot risks