Member Article

Watton Priory Barn Honoured At York Building Awards

An historic East Yorkshire building, which has been rescued from the Heritage At Risk Register, has been honoured in this year’s York Guild of Building Craftsmanship awards.

Watton Priory Barn, near Driffield, which dates back to the 12th century, has been saved by Historic Property Restoration Ltd, who are based in North Shields.

Mick Teale, contracts manager for Historic Property Restoration, won the Best Brickwork category at the awards.

The 9,000 bricks and copings for Watton Priory Barn were provided by the award-winning York Handmade Brick Company, who also help to sponsor the York Guild of Building Craftsmanship awards.

Guy Armitage, managing director of York Handmade, explained: “The aim of the awards is to recognise the high quality of work carried out by the many skilled craftsmen and women in the York area.

“As a local brick company, we are proud to be a sponsor at these awards. It is very important to support local companies and to recognise their high standard of work and commitment. And it is excellent that Historic Property Restoration, together with all the other winners, has been recognised for their workmanship by an organisation such as the York Guild of Building.”

“The awards have developed significantly in the past couple of years and now play a pivotal part in helping York and North Yorkshire to confirm its position as a centre of craftsmanship excellence,” he added.

Mr Armitage commented: “The brickwork for the Watton Priory Barn is superb, with the new brickwork matching the old, whilst still showing the outline of the building. This gives an idea of its provenance and why it was important to preserve the heritage of the building.”

The York Guild of Building was established in 1954 to represent and provide a forum for all the skills which are required in the construction and maintenance of buildings.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Robert Beaumont .