Sector: Buildings of Historical Interest
Main Contractor: MGM Limited
Architect: Simpson and Brown
Services
• Photographic log
• Repair and restoration of historic plaster mouldings
Numbers 28-30 The Close, known locally as The Buttress, is a Grade I listed building situated on Newcastle’s quayside. The large merchant’s house, which probably combined living space with warehousing, was built in the 16th Century. Renovations were carried out in the 17th and 19th centuries, retaining features that date back over 500 years. The property, one of Newcastle’s oldest, had been neglected and vandalised and placed on the Council’s register of listed buildings at risk.
The architect specified Ornate Interiors to restore the intricate internal historic details and plasterwork. The complicated project required detailed photography of all the plaster elements before construction work began.
The building comprised three plots which had been linked to create long rooms on each of the three levels creating beam soffits. The first and second floors also incorporated close-set secondary beams, retaining plaster decorations such as herons, arabesques and flowers which had been applied in the ceiling gaps between the beams. The beam soffits themselves featured yet more abstract cast panels alternating from beam to beam, with a bird motif discernible in one of the patterns. A cornice moulding running around the soffits between the beams was also restored, along with a bead moulding running at the base of each beam.
To repair the beams craftsmen first secured them in place and then applied a pricking coat of lime plaster to the soffits and the side of each beam. The mitres were cored out and a setting coat applied before the cast ornate panels were secured to the ceiling spaces between the beams and soffits.
The conservation project won The Building Conservation Award in the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors North East Renaissance Awards. The Close is now ready for its new role as a venue for a high-class restaurant and offices.
“The end result is a testament to the expertise and resources employed by Ornate Interiors. With the plasterwork being such an integral feature it was vital that specialists such as Ronnie and his team were engaged in the process from the start.”
Rick Gallie, Simpson and Brown Architects
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