Showing posts with label Jon Maine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jon Maine. Show all posts

Thursday, 15 October 2009

Merchant's House, Shepton Mallet - good for Wood!


Picture: Jon Maine

A very rapid blog to congratulate Jon Maine, who has won the Conservation/Restoration category re the Wood Awards.

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/jonmaine  is a web album of shots.

Jon's updated blog

http://merchants-house.blogspot.com/

Jon's website

http://www.merchants-house.co.uk/

with next date of his house 'open day'.

SAVE website:

http://www.savebritainsheritage.org/news/article.php?id=73

http://www.savebritainsheritage.org/docs/articles/Merchants%20House.pdf

My previous witterings on this include:

http://nemesisrepublic.blogspot.com/2009/05/merchants-house-wins-rics-sw-award.html

http://nemesisrepublic.blogspot.com/2009/06/all-we-need-is-love-save-buildings-at.html


Brilliant, Jon. Now try to relax and enjoy it.

Nem



PS the new, updated Blogger editing facilities are an improvement,  Recommended download.

Monday, 1 June 2009

All We Need Is Love: SAVE Buildings at Risk!


Published today - the 2009 SAVE Britain's Heritage Buildings at Risk catalogue, so don't delay, order NOW!

"SAVE’s 2009 Buildings at Risk report is due to arrive in the office on the 1st June. It is the most agonising parade of delightful and decaying historic buildings that SAVE has so far produced.

Many of these buildings can be tackled and rescued by enterprising individuals. This latest list of over 100 buildings includes classic Queen Anne and Regency houses begging for restoration, weather boarded Essex farmhouses, old rectories, town houses built for wealthy merchants, pretty but forlorn village pubs, and a perfect William and Mary Dolls House belonging to the Ministry of Defence. There are bigger buildings too, many prominent local landmarks such as the art College at Derby, the Prison at Plymouth, several town halls, post offices, schools, chapels and hotels.

Every page is a cry for help...

To order your copy please contact the office or send us a cheque with a note describing which publication you require. The publication is priced at £15 (£13 for Friends) + £2.50 p&p"

For further information and more pictures, here's the latest Press Release:


Buildings at Risk Press Release May 2009


And to spur you on, in case you fancy rescuing a wreck, Jon Maine has updated his Merchant's House website (see last Republic post on his success in the RICS Awards) with a gallery link to Picassa web albums of pictures, and started a blog (see my blog list on the right):

http://www.merchants-house.co.uk/

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/jonmaine

SAVE has featured his wonderful work and success in the RICS Awards on its website, with a link also to the article which appeared in the 2006 BaR catalogue:

http://www.savebritainsheritage.org/news/article.php?id=73


http://www.savebritainsheritage.org/docs/articles/Merchants%20House.pdf

Now Jon (who is a conservation builder and project manager in case you want to rescue a wreck and feel you need help) is to go forward to the national finals, with Merchant's House up against places like St Paul's. Best of luck, Jon!

Also on that PDF link is part of the article in the same book about the rescue of Heolas Fawr in Wales, by Gervase Webb. For those wishing to know more, Gervase Webb's website is at :

http://www.horganandwebb.com/

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/106620 Heolas Fawr click to enlarge

Gervase has also published this useful guide to traditional plastering:

http://www.horganandwebb.com/downloads/Plastering.pdf

and there is other useful stuff here for those keen to tackle their own wreck:

http://www.horganandwebb.com/advice.html

If you want to buy meat carefully raised at Heolas Fawr, here's further information:

http://handmademeat.co.uk/Producers/Heolas-Fawr.html

Like Jon, Gervase is happy to come along and advise, project manage, and also get his hands dirty helping others to rescue their own wrecks.

"Horgan & Webb is a member of the AECB, the sustainable building association, the Institute of Historic Building Conservation, the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings and The Building Limes Forum.

The work on our own house was featured in the BBC2 series Restored to Glory, where John Yates a former chairman of the IHBC, commended the "textbook conservation techniques" and Ian Constantinedes of St Blaise Ltd commented, "England's loss is Wales's gain".
The project has also been featured on the
Period Property website and in the 2006 SAVE Buildings at Risk register. More recently Gervase Webb was asked to speak at the annual conference of the The Building Limes Forum on the implications of new building regulations for those working on traditional buildings. He has also been featured in the property section of the Independent newspaper."

UPDATE!!

I've just had my attention drawn to this article in the Times 29th May

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article6390411.ece

on the new SAVE report on Brighton's churches at risk, so why not order that in addition to the BaR catalogue? I wrote about it here:

http://nemesisrepublic.blogspot.com/2009/03/brighton-churches-save-report.html

http://www.savebritainsheritage.org/publications/

and it's also featured in today's SALON:

http://www.sal.org.uk/salon/#section25




Click to enlarge


Back soon with a longer blog!

Meanwhile, enjoy the great weather. I know I will, the garden beckons...


Nem

Latest: Sunday Times June 7th has an article about the Buidings at Risk catalogue:

http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/article6432246.ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1

Friday, 22 May 2009

Merchant's House wins RICS SW Award!





I was mid rant about something else when I read the wonderful news, so this is a short blog this afternoon to say congratulations to Republic Follower Jon on the marvellous, and well-deserved, win at the RICS SW Awards, for his long time repair project on the II* listed Merchant's House, Shepton Mallet.


The South West’s most innovative building projects were once again celebrated at the 5th annual South West final of the RICS Awards during May. From a shortlist of 36 finalists, awards were presented for the best projects in four categories - building conservation, community benefit, regeneration and sustainability, as well as the Project of the Year. Now in their 19th year, the RICS Awards are widely acknowledged as an annual celebration of built and natural environment projects that demonstrate true excellence and commitment to value for money and sustainability. The five winners on the night were: * Clavell Tower, Wareham won the building conservation category* Knowle West Media Centre, Bristol won in the community benefit category* Princesshay, Exeter was the winner in the regeneration category* Swindon Central Library received the award for sustainability* Merchants House, Shepton Mallet won the Project of the Year award
.

Details here:


As I said in an earlier blog:


I hear that Jon Maine has finally completed the long time repair of the Merchant's House in Shepton Mallet, and Family Maine spent Christmas there. Such good news, a most beautiful and important Grade II* building rescued from dereliction; I leave the website to fill in the background, but I gather Jon is open to offers to come along and work his magic on your own home.

His recent Open Day, with guest Kevin McCloud off the telly, raised a substantial sum of money for the local hospice. Brilliant!


James Gregory, RICS South West Regional Chair comments
: “These awards are hotly contested each year and 2009 saw a particularly strong entry from across the region. We now wish them all the very best of luck for the next stage of the competition which will be the grand final to be held in London in October.”

Back later with the rant!

Nem