Member Article

Heritage Skills Day at Auckland Castle

Major restoration work by skilled craftsmen from Blyth firm, Team Force Restoration is currently being undertaken on the walls of the historic 300 year old walled garden at Auckland Castle in County Durham. Due to be completed in November 2015, this work is in addition to the £17m restoration of Auckland Castle, home to the Prince Bishops of Durham for 900 years.

There will also be a Heritage Skills Day at Auckland Castle, Wednesday 28 October 2015, 10am-4pm. Team Force Restoration and Auckland Castle host an open day for those interested in learning more about conservation. The event is open to the public and will provide the opportunity to have a go at a range of traditional skills and speak to the craftsmen working on the Walled Garden developments. The event will include a tour and talk by local historian, Harry Beamish and a variety of workshops including Lime Pointing on Brickwork, Lime Pointing on Stonework, Banker Masonry – stone carving, Lime Slake, Leadwork and Roofing Rig.

According to a 2014 archaeological survey, there is evidence for gardening in part of the two acre walled garden site from the 1670s but the present walls were developed in the 18th century when specialist hothouses were added for the cultivation of exotic plants and fruit – including pineapples, which were a luxurious delicacy of the time. The site continued in use as a commercial nursery during the 20th century.

Since then, the garden had been left derelict and the walls had become unsafe. Scaffolding has had to be erected and some areas of the wall have had to be propped up due to ground subsidence.

The ten craftsmen from Team Force Restoration have also had to cope with the added complication of working alongside a resident colony of bats. It has been necessary to employ the services of a bat expert to advise on the best ways to proceed while causing minimal disruption to their habitat!

Managing Director of Team Force Restoration Brendan Teasdale says: “Team Force Restoration is privileged to be part of this significant project at Auckland Castle. The consolidation work which we carry out to these historic garden walls will safeguard them for future generations.

“Careful consideration is taken when repairs to this type of decayed masonry are carried out, because under no circumstances do we want to change the overall, historic appearance.

“As always with heritage restoration, the work is very detailed, involving meticulous research as well as brick-by-brick recording and then careful dismantling where the walls have subsided. We have also replaced stone copings, re-built foundations; replaced bricks and stone; installed reinforcement; inserted ties, and carried out repointing and consolidation work where cement mortars had been removed.

“Most historic properties we work on need intervention. However we don’t want to change the aesthetics of a building unless it is absolutely necessary for public safety. Therefore, when bricks are replaced it is only when necessary, ensuring that any repairs are kept to the minimum. It is also important that the original bricks still show signs of erosion, demonstrating the history of the wall.”

Phil Bolam, Head of Estates at Auckland Castle added: “We are very pleased to be working with Team Force Restoration on this the first stage of the Walled Garden restoration. After many years of neglect the Walled Garden was in need of great deal care and attention. Team Force Restoration’s skills in accurate restoration were ideally suited to bring the garden wall back to its original 17th Century characteristics.

“The position and layout of the garden added to the challenge with steep terracing and almost unpassable terrain. The Force Team are coping with professionalism and skill to ensure the work is completed on time. Their understanding of historic accuracy in materials and craftsmanship ensure that this feature will be sympathetically restored.

“This is the first stage of a very exciting, major Walled Garden restoration and build project. Without this initial restoration work the project could not progress and we look forward to beginning the second phase of work in May 2016.”

Planning permission was granted in April 2015 for the £17m restoration of Auckland Castle. This was a key step in the wider £60m renovation of one of Britain’s most important historical sites, which will be developed by Auckland Castle Trust as a new heritage destination. The Castle will welcome 120,000 visitors each year, creating over 100 full-time jobs and generating £3m of annual revenue in an ambitious heritage-led social regeneration initiative for the North East of England.

The renovation of Auckland Castle will create a vibrant and dynamic new heritage attraction. The revitalisation of the castle complex will also catalyse the regeneration of Bishop Auckland, delivering wide-ranging advantages to the region. Auckland Castle Trust has already created over 40 jobs with numbers expected to grow rapidly as work continues.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Kate Slater .