Windsor Guildhall
Conservation and Restoration
This project was a direct appointment by Wokingham Borough Council who manage properties for The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, following our successful delivery of other listed building projects that they manage.
The Grade I listed Guildhall has been the centre-piece of Windsor High Street for over 300 years, and enjoys a significant historical relationship with the nearby Windsor Castle.
ERMC provided lead consultancy and conservation work expertise for the restoration of the historic building envelope and are providing options and feasibility studies for improving public accessibility to the existing facilities by providing full wheelchair access and necessary upgrades, including safe rooftop maintenance access.
Remedials and repairs
The works consisted of the following:
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The installation of working-at-height safety features, including the partial replacement of the existing high-level walkway platforms and the introduction of an appropriate fall arrest system and collapsible handrailing.
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The repair, refurbishment and redecoration of several historic first floor windows and the introduction of suitable draughtproofing measures.
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The repair and replacement of the leadwork dressing over the cornice serving the ground floor structure.
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The repair and refurbishment of the internal ground floor Western elevation, including wall surfacing, stonework detailing, and redecoration of the existing timber doors.
Considered conservation
Following advice from Historic England, the decision was made to add a lime render topcoat to the western Ground Floor elevation prior to being painted, in order to provide a finish more appropriate to the period in which it was constructed.
This consisted of a lime render, applied sufficiently thinly to allow the existing lining-out detailing to remain visible following completion of the works. The application of this topcoat followed the repair of the existing rough-cast render which was revealed following historical removal of the previous topcoat and paint finish.
The repair work and render application was carried out by a competent conservation plasterer using appropriate materials and techniques.
