There has been worship on the site of Gloucester Cathedral for over 1300 years, and the present building is one of the finest examples of Cathedral architecture in Britain. The materials and craftsmanship on the exterior of the building are of significant historical value.

We have been involved in on-going works on Gloucester Cathedral for several years, supplying and fitting all new window protection to our 'Tech3' specification.

We have protected a diverse range of prestigious windows, ensuring a minimal visual impact to their internal and external appearance.

Any detrimental effects to the fabric of the building have been carefully avoided, with all work being classed as 'reversible'.

All our work on the Cathedral has been self contained, ensuring minimal disruption and cost.

EALING ABBEY

Ealing abbey is a small but thriving monastic community in West London. In October 1995, building work to complete the abbey church commenced. The biggest challenge to the architect (Sir William Whitfield) was to harmonise the extension with the existing building.
We supplied and fixed seven large stained glass windows and six large leaded lights, all of which incorporated opening lights and special ferramenta to meet exacting standards.

Four frames and templates for large Gothic-style acoustic screens were also supplied and fitted. All screens were glazed in one piece with glass weighing 400 kilos/sheet.

The timber framed extension that enclosed the cloisters was constructed from green oak - a natural component subject to significant movement. The many and highly specified window frames, screens and doors that we supplied had to accommodate for this, and we designed a modified fixing method accordingly.

ALL SAINTS CHURCH IN CROWBOROUGH

At Crowborough we supplied and installed a diverse range of products. A large number of 'classical' metal windows and doors were fitted to a high specification, complete with a distinctive glass. The style of craftsmanship and combination of materials gave the features the 'handmade' antique appearance that the architect (Lee Evans de Moubray) required.

It was a requirement of the project that the large apse window was glazed with traditional leaded lights. We completed this task in such a way as to ensure the easy installation of stained glass at a later date.

Finally, we crafted and fitted a 3 metre square lantern complete with a 2.5 metre gold leafed cross that sits on the apex of the building.

OUR LADY OF VICTORIES CHURCH, DUNDEE

This extensive project involved the installation and protection of a large 2001 anniversary window designed by stained glass artist Tony Naylor, along with the installation of 12 aisle windows.

Working with Tony, we removed all the existing glass from the main west window and primed the large metal frame in preparation for glazing. We then installed weather protection in the form of high grade polycarbonate sheeting fixed to vented stainless steel frames.

The twelve existing aisle windows were removed and re-glazed with new stained glass windows.

Working as part of a self-contained team we ensured minimal disruption to the activity of the church, and completed the work within a week.

ST MARTIN'S CHURCH, BULLRING, BIRMINGHAM

St Martin's Church lies at the heart of the massive Bullring re-development scheme, recently completed in Birmingham City Centre.

We supplied and fitted window protection to our specification 'Tech3' to all the windows on the old church, including a fine example of a Burne-Jones design, installed by William Morris. The architect (APEC) required that this window be robustly protected throughout the course of the project, with no detrimental effects to the fabric of the building. We provided a solution by fitting high grade polycarbonate sheeting fixed to a wooden sub-frame, wedged into the main lights and tracery shapes. When the scaffolding was dismantled we removed this temporary protection and fitted stainless steel grilles consistent with the other windows on the church.

On the main east and west windows, we solved the problem of bird debris by fitting our anti-roosting wires within all tracery shapes. These wires are compatible with our window guards and can be added or removed to suit. They are visually unobtrusive and cannot be seen from the ground.

ST MARY AND ALL SAINTS CHURCH, WHITMORE, STAFFS

The weather vane at St Mary and All Saints Church was in need of major restoration. The directionals were degraded ('East' had disappeared altogether), the leaf decorations were highly degraded, much of the iron was badly corroded and the ornament was warped and had lost its gold leaf.

Carrying out the majority of our work in situ, we first removed all corroded material and old gold leaf down to a solid surface. This was then coated with an industrial primer and finished with high quality maintenance paint. The leaf decorations were also repaired and gold leafed in situ.

The ornament and directionals were removed and exact stainless steel copies were crafted in our workshop. They were then gold leafed and re-fitted.

The architect (Horsley Huber and Associates) was thrilled with the result.