2 C O N T E X T 1 4 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 Editor Rob Cowan Editorial Coordinator Fiona Newton, 01507 602567 editorial@ihbc.org.uk Editorial Board Nigel Crowe Peter de Figueiredo (book reviews) Rebecca Madgin Fiona Newton (chair) Elizabeth Smith Michael Taylor Cartoons by Rob Cowan Context is distributed to all members of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation. © Institute of Historic Building Conservation 2015 ISSN 0958-2746 Publisher Cathedral Communications Limited, High Street, Tisbury,Wiltshire, England SP3 6HA 01747 871717 context@cathcomm.co.uk www.buildingconservation.com Non-member subscriptions to Context Context is available to corporate bodies at an annual subscription rate, including postage, of: United Kingdom £60.00 Elsewhere £90.00 The views expressed in Context are not necessarily held by the IHBC or the publisher. Neither the publisher nor the IHBC shall be under any liability whatsoever in respect of contributed articles. We gratefully acknowledge the support of firms whose advertisements appear throughout this publication.While every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this issue of Context is current and correct, neither the IHBC nor the publisher can be held responsible for any errors or omissions which may occur. Briefing Copy deadlines Context is published five times a year, in March, May, July, September and November. The next four copy deadlines are: March, issue 143 15 January May, issue 144 11 March July, issue 145 13 May September, issue 146 15 July Awards for Combermere Abbey Combermere Abbey has been awarded special commendations from the 2015 Historic England Angels Awards (for the north wing restoration) and 2015 Historic Houses Association/Sotheby’s Restoration Awards (for the restoration of the library). The library, originally the Abbot’s Lodge in the Abbey, has been restored over a period of 15 years in three phases, supported by a grant from Historic England and the Heritage Conservation Trust. Uninhabited since the early 1950s, the north wing had become structurally unstable, with collapsed roof, walls and interiors, and it was seriously endangering the rest of Combermere Abbey, which has been on the At Risk Register since 1993. Extensive repair work is being carried out, including stripping the building back to the original medieval and Tudor frame, removing the gothic cladding and existing roof structure, repairing or replacing the decayed areas, rebuilding the roof and chimneys, and reinstating the gothic exterior. Combermere Abbey is a privately owned Grade I listed building set in 1,000 acres of historic parkland on the Cheshire/Shropshire border. It began life as a Cistercian monastery in 1133, was dissolved under Henry VIII, rebuilt as a Tudor mansion and remodelled in the late 1820s in the then-popular gothic style. Crumbling spires A ‘Save our Spires’ appeal has been launched by the National Churches Trust (NCT) to highlight the plight of crumbling church spires around the UK An analysis by the NCT of Historic England’s latest Heritage At Risk Register shows that 40 listed parish churches require urgent repair work to their spires. Damage to parish church spires includes stone decay and deterioration; The restored library (originally the Abbot’s Lodge) at Combermere Abbey StVincent’s Church, Caythorpe, Lincolnshire, has been awarded a £40,000 grant by the National Churches Trust to help fund a project to re-roof the nave and undertake major repairs to the spire. (Photo: Gordon Plumb)
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