Project Title: Shaw House
Location: Newbury
Wood Species: EUROPEAN OAK, EUROPEAN REDWOOD
Project Description
The Project
Shaw House is a Grade I Listed building in Newbury, Berkshire dating from 1581. The house sat empty for many years, and was classified as a Grade A (maximum) risk on the English Heritage Buildings at Risk Register before coming into the ownership of West Berkshire Council, who appointed Purcell Miller Tritton LLP in 2003.
Between January 2005 and December 2006 a £5m contract of repairs and alterations was carried out, made possible by funding from Vodafone, English Heritage, and the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The building is now fully functioning as an education and conference facility for West Berkshire Council, as well as a Registry Office and an historic house open to the public. A key part of the work was the conservation and restoration of the historic timber wall panelling, which is in both softwood and oak and dates from the 16th – 18th Centuries.
The panelling had been removed from the walls in the 1980s amid concerns about the structural condition of the house, and stacked on the floors. It was in reasonable condition when we became involved but was in a great many pieces. Records of where the components were taken from comprised labels on the backs of the panels, some of which were missing. The panels were first moved to a warehouse where they could be laid out, room-by-room. This enabled us to produce larger scale drawings on which we recorded repairs and missing elements. The drawings were then cross-referenced to detailed schedules that were ultimately used to price, and then to carry out, the work.
Some new panels were designed and installed to suit adaptations being made to the building and other features such as hinged panels, which can be opened to reveal the archaeology of the building structure behind, have been sympathetically incorporated to aid visitor interpretation. Local specialist joiners Tankerdale Limited offered invaluable advice during the design stage, and then were later employed as a subcontractor to carry out the works.
The panelling was repaired in their workshops to a high standard using traditional methods, and was then re-fixed by them on site.
BUILDING OWNER: WEST BERKSHIRE DISTRICT COUNCIL
ARCHITECT: PURCELL MILLER TRITTON LLP
BUILDER/MAIN CONTRACTOR: WILLIAM SAPCOTE & SONS LTD
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS: ALAN BAXTER & ASSOCIATES
JOINERY: TANKERDALE LIMTED
OTHER ASSOCIATED COMPANY: SAWYER & FISHER QUANTITY SURVEYORS
