CHURCHES, CATHEDRALS & CEMETERIES

Project: Westminster Cathedral, London

Client: St Ann’s Gate Architects

Westminster Cathedral’s build was started in 1895. It is the largest Catholic church in the UK and the seat of the Archbishop of Westminster. The architect was John Francis Bentley. The first mass was said in the Cathedral in 1903, in Our Lady’s Chapel. And the Cathedral itself was consecrated in 1910.

The whole building, in the neo-Byzantine style, covers a floor area of about 5,017 square metres (54,000 sq ft); the dominating factor of the scheme, apart from the campanile, being a spacious and uninterrupted nave, 18 metres (59 ft) wide and 70 metres (230 ft) long from the narthex to the sanctuary steps, covered with domical vaulting. 

Scope of works:

  • Site set up to all areas / scaffolding
  • Pointing to brickwork replaced with lime mortar
  • Pointing to Portland, stone copings
  • Replace lead detail
  • Lead flashing cover
  • Replace Westmoreland slate
  • Repairs to Portland stone dome
  • Repairs to cracked brickwork
  • Window repairs including decoration works
  • Stain glass repairs
  • Decoration works to all lead down pipes

Project: Brompton Cemetery – Royal Parks

Client: Bolt & Heeks

Bolt and Heeks were entered into ‘The National Federation of Builders (NFB) Awards 2018’ which celebrates the high-quality work and commitment.

  • The prestigious awards ceremony took place at The Belfry Hotel & Resort, Sutton Coldfield, on Tuesday 27 March 2018 and there Bolt and Heeks were announced winners of the award category for Heritage Project of the Year.

    Barwin were indeed very proud to be involved in such tremendous project, carrying out the repair, restoration and cleaning of this magnificent Brompton Cemetery in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

    Wayne Sampson – Owner of Barwin Properties and Cleaning mentioned:We look forward to continue working with Bolt and Heeks on more outstanding projects in the near future and are proud to have had our diligence and skill acknowledged”.

    This major project will conserve and enhance the garden cemetery’s unique character and improve this valuable open space for the local community and visitors to enjoy.

    The cemetery is listed Grade I in the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England.

    The conservation and restoration project involved, close collaboration with English heritage, the royal parks, architects and engineer.

    Barwin worked proficiently to restore the Historic cemetery and the following works were carried out by our skilled masons:

    • Cleaning, replacement and in situ repairs to the stone and brickwork to the various areas including the Colonnades, the catacombs and the beautiful chapel.
    • Redeveloping and restoration of the North Lodge with information centre, shop, WCs and café
    • Restoring the chapel, central colonnades and catacombs
    • Conserving the historic landscape, buildings and monuments
    • Community engagement and access improvements
    • Sympathetic restoration to conserve and interpret the cemetery

Project: St John’s Wood Church, London

Client: St John’s Wood Church

St John’s Wood Church, built in 1814 by Thomas Hardwick, overlooks Lords Roundabout by Regents Park. With its original box pews and fine collection of monuments, the building has been in continuous use as a place of Christian worship since its construction.

Barwin removed the coatings by dry grit blasting from the internal stone piers and brick walls in the catacombs. All windows and doorways were protected with hard board and gaffer tape to prevent any dust penetrating into other areas within the premises. Works were carried out in two separate stages: removal of coatings and clearing of all the debris in a designated area. Areas were thoroughly vacuumed on completion of each stage.

Scope of works:

  • Dry grit blasting to remove all coatings and contaminants from the vehicle gates and pedestrian gate
  • Preparation and redecoration of the gates in accordance with Hempel paint system specifications
  • Application of an additional two top coats of SC329 bronze green.

 

Project: St Pancras & Islington Cemetery

Client: Bolt & Heeks

The Victorian Chapel and Cemetery is grade II listed on the English Heritage Register of Historic Parks and Gardens, it is used for burial services for both Islington and St. Pancras Cemeteries. It was originally built in 1853 by John Barnett and William C Birch in a cruciform design, with decorated windows in Gothic style and a central octagonal crossing tower and spire. The Cemetery also forms the third largest single cemetery serving in London.

Barwin were appointed to carry out the repair, restoration and cleaning.

Scope of works:

  • Restoration Surveys.
  • Specialist lime pointing to the entire external façade of the Chapel.
  • Extension of a new bath stone wall and re-secure the loose stonework at the front and corner of the Chapel’s toilet.
  • Kentish rag stone dressing and replacement.
  • Chapel spire and preservation works including installation of heibar repairs.
  • Window arch repairs which consisted of the following; take out and reinstate crown brickwork, install a crowned ply arch and rebuild the former brick walls and stone details.
  • Cement mortar removed for the existing stonework and new mortar applied to restoration areas.
  • New stonework fixed to the areas where stonework was badly eroded. 

Project: St Johns Church, Waterloo, London

Client: Buxton Building Contractors

St John the Evangelist Waterloo is a Commissioners’ Church, one of many built in the early 19th Century to cater to the rapidly growing population of London and also partly as a job-creation scheme for demobbed soldiers following the battle of Waterloo.

St John’s architect was Francis Octavius Bedford. It was built between 1822 and 1824 in the Greek Revival style on a swampy site relatively recently reclaimed from the Thames. The interior of the church was renovated in 1885 by Sir Arthur Bloomfield, and again in 1924 by Ninian Comper. On 8th December 1940 a high explosive bomb destroyed most of the interior of the church, but the walls were left intact, as was the crypt – at the time in use as an air raid shelter.

The church was restored by architect Thomas Ford and reopened for the Festival of Britain on 26th April 1951. It was a focus for the Festival, and has remained a place of encounter between the arts, society and faith ever since. The crowning glory of the restored church are two murals by Hans Feibusch, also dating from 1951. Feibusch was a German Jewish refugee artist responsible for more murals in Church of England churches than any other artist in its entire history – and is only now beginning to attract the recognition he deserves.

From 1984 to 2003, when this part of the South Bank was known as Cardboard City, the crypt was used as a homeless centre and serving the homeless is still central to our mission.

St John’s is now home to the Southbank Sinfonia, one of the world’s greatest youth orchestras, runs the annual Waterloo Festival of arts, community and heritage, and is pioneering a new response to post-Covid need: a programme of wellbeing, mental health and therapeutic arts activities for local young and homeless people called Waterloo Well.

Scope of works:

  • Cleaning and restoration of catacombs and floors to main church 

Project: Reeds Chapel, Watford 

Client: Fifield Glyn

Reeds chapel, now converted into housing, of the former London Orphan Asylum School. It is on the east side of Watford Junction station. It was designed by Henry Dawson and built in 1871. The school left Watford in 1939 and the buildings of the school, which are also now housing, were used as offices. Conversion to housing happened in the 1980s.

Barwin were appointed as principle contractor to carry out various roof repairs, and sympathetically clean the stone and brickwork using the DOFF system. 

Project: Shree Sanatan Hindu Temple, London 

The temple was first opened in the 2010 after taking 14 years to build, and is made entirely of imported Indian limestone. 

Many of the temple’s component pieces were hand carved in the town of Sola, India – before being flown to London and assembled. There were 41 marble statues made in India. The interior is elaborately decorated with carvings on the pillars and walls, as well as the numerous shrines with painted figures of Hindu deities. The highest point stands at 66ft tall. 

Barwin were appointed to carry out a full conservation clean on the exterior of the temple. 

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