Parts of Middleton Hall – a Grade II* listed building - date back to the 13th Century and are constructed from a timber frame under render. The medieval stone building is the oldest domestic building in Warwickshire.
Add to that the fact that for the latter half of the 20th Century the Hall was allowed to fall into serious decay. That was until it was lovingly transformed thanks to the skill and devotion of a large team of volunteers under the guidance of the Middleton Hall Restoration Trust, a registered charity set up in 1980.
So it is understandable that any restoration work has to be undertaken not just to the highest standards, but also with the utmost regard to the integrity of the building.
When restoration work was undertaken to the roof of the Great Hall, not only did the roof have to be totally watertight to protect the contents of the hall, but the scaffold also had to be totally free standing so as not to damage the fabric of the building it was protecting.
The resulting scaffold design was very complex – using spine beams to extend the scaffold for the roof – and incorporated 38 tonnes of kentledge to ensure that the scaffold didn’t come into contact with the building.
