- 2014 has been a really rewarding year for us at Kay Pilsbury Thomas Architects, we were so proud to have won both the RIBA East: Best Conservation Award, as well as the Architectural Excellence Award and then the RICS East: Best Conservation Award, for Finchingfield Guildhall. These awards are such a great way of recognising what a massive achievement it has been for the local volunteers (Jackie, Des, Linda, Jeremy…just to name a few), who, off their own backs and after years of fundraising and graft, saved their community Guildhall. With the help of a Heritage Lottery Grant and dozens of other grants, they commissioned Kay Pilsbury Thomas Architects to design and oversee the specialist conservation repairs and conversion to this grade I Listed, ancient building. The building works contract was undertaken by craftsmen Fairhurst Ward Abbotts and their Master Carpenter Tony Loades. They also took on two local apprentices to teach them traditional building skills. The museum design incorporates state of the art touch screen technology designed by Smith and Jones. We’ve met some incredible people over the last long 8 years of this project and are thrilled this building is now alive again, bustling with visitors to its museum, library and Guildroom events. Let’s hope the building can now go on strongly for another 500 years!
- The festive season has been topped off this Christmas with a special December service unveiling the Triptych at Radwinter Church. We arranged for Click Netherfield to design and install a lit casing to show off this special medieval painting, which depicts Saint Mary and the Holy Child, with two Saints on the wings of Saint Louis and Saint Clare.
- The clock at Radwinter Church is now telling the right time and gloriously chiming on the hour throughout the village. The repair was undertaken by A. James, Jewellers, Saffron Walden. We also designed a new clock floor and access off the stone winding stair at the top of the tower, and this was built by Lodge and Sons.
- We have also just finished in time for Christmas, with Rose Builders, the construction of the new Orangery at Pleshey House of Retreat. This has been designed to complement this beautiful Arts and Crafts movement building, with brick piers and large oak and glass screens detailed to complement the original joinery. The roof is a living, green sedum roof, which has been planted with gorgeous flowers. We have also designed an elegant new fully accessible Bedroom, so the guests with disabilities can also now enjoy this peaceful and welcoming place.
- We have also nearly finished the renovations to a house in Clapham, with Fairhurst Ward Abbotts. The design includes some wonderful new double doors, which echo the design of the original Victorian window details. Photos will follow next month.
- We are continuing on-site into the New year at Galleywood Church, with Lodge and Sons, on the design and construction of the new Organ Gallery and North Transept Room. We’ve included some sneaky photos of the tree carving for the new oak screen.
- We have some truly exciting projects “on the drawing board” and will reveal more next year when some of these start on-site. Here’s a taster of a few of them: renovation of a medieval hall house; a farmhouse rebuild; an Orangery/Cloister/indoor swimming pool extension to a Georgian Villa; the renovation of a Victorian Vicarage; repairs to Heydon Church; renovation of a local medieval house with bedroom/kitchen extension; new server/ WC to Saffron Walden Church interior and another to Ridgewell Church; a kitchen extension and stable conversion to the domestic range of an Augustinian abbey in Norfolk; Breakfast Room extension and indoor swimming pool to an Arts and Crafts house… AND we wait to hear in spring if our feasibility design for upgrades and internal designs to Saffron Walden Town Hall will be awarded a Heritage Lottery Grant - fingers crossed. It should be a hugely enjoyable 2015!
- Finally: we’ve warmly welcomed Marta Castrillo to our team. Marta like many of our specialist Architectural Designers boosts a Post-Graduate Masters in Historic Building Conservation and enriches our gang with more nerdy traditional building knowledge and detailing!
- Everyone at Kay Pilsbury Thomas Architects wishes all our Clients, Builders and Consultants a brilliant Christmas and can’t wait to carry on full steam ahead into 2015!
