The Muniment Room
Project completed: 2012
Grant funded by English Heritage
Architect: Richard Maddison and associates
The Brief
The delicate and complicated restoration of a Grade I early C17 Dovecote, now Muniment Room situated in the grounds of Melbourne Estate. The main project specification was to restore the bell shaped roof, repair windows, stonework and internal finishes. All items were to be retained and restored to the highest quality without disturbance to the historic fabric.
Awards
AwardsCivic Society Award 2012 – HIGHLY COMMENDED
English Heritage Angel Award 2013
Comments from the client
The result is magnificent and the attention to detail is outstanding. English Heritage are so pleased with the works undertaken by Alan Staley and his team of highly skilled craftsmen, they have nominated the project for the English Heritage Angel Award. The Muniment Room is now a landmark building, that visitors to the Estate Grounds are amazed by the faithful workmanship. It’s now a building of which we are very proud.
Lord & Lady Kerr, Owner
Comments from the contractor
The building was in a poor state of repair and the roof structure in particular was very fragile. The wall plates, hips and lower rafters had all deteriorated leaving the structure unstable. ASBC installed propping devices that we had specially designed and fabricated. There were no plans drawn up but we had a number of detailed specification drawings by Maddison James Associates. Working closely with Maddison James and English Heritage, ASBC were able to design a large proportion of the repair works, retaining much more of the historic fabric than expected and providing costs savings without compromising the standard of workmanship or material. This project was completed sooner than expected despite all the difficulties throughout.
Alan Staley
Gallery
