October 2021
More adventures for staff at the Southern office took place in the month with the first volunteer group exploring deep underground into the Dorking Caves, a complex of tunnels excavated into the sandstone as far back as the 16th century to serve a variety of purposes ranging from storage to meeting places for persecuted religious groups and secret societies. Coincidentally survey work started at the same time on twenty lock-up railway arches in Kilburn!
Work was undertaken on many other projects, ranging from the ongoing refurbishment of Buckingham Palace and the contemporary Trailfinders Sports Club in Ealing, to a written statement of significance of a historic well shaft in Hampshire. Local Authority work included the Broadway Theatre in Catford. The most significant project work was on the refurbishment of a further large wing of the old Blackberry Hospital in Bristol and condition surveys of all the historic buildings at Snape Maltings in Suffolk. Annual maintenance visits to check environmental monitoring systems were undertaken at Balnagown Castle, York Crown Court and Bodmin Town Hall
