Oxburgh's roof project

12 August 2021

Bats on a non-slip roof

A total of 14,000 new black-glazed pantiles are currently being added to the roof that have been chosen to look the same as those used over two centuries ago, which had become weatherworn, cracked and damaged. However, the black glaze on the new tiles was found to be too slippery for the resident bats. Looking for a solution, our bat expert carried out tests which found that a coating of paint mixed with sand of different sizes enabled bats to grip with their tiny claws to climb easily to the safety of the rooftop roosts. 

Surveys found six bat species flying close to the house, but it is the brown long-eared, common pipistrelle and soprano pipistrelle bats that roost in the building. The brown long-eared bats use attics and roof spaces, and all three species use crevices under roof tiles, ridge tiles and lead flashing. Working with a bat expert, a new roost has been created in the nearby Bell Tower and bat boxes have been installed in the trees on the north terrace to provide alternative roosting places while the roof works takes place. Currently the bell in the Bell Tower can’t be rung, so as not to disturb the bats. 

The builders have also ensured there will be 32 new bat openings around the roof – some under the ridge tiles, some lower on the roof under pantiles, and others on the dormer windows. The roof tiles near the openings have been given the specially developed bat coating. Several of the roosts have carefully designed gaps in the roof lining to allow brown long-eared bats to get into the attics and roof voids. 

2 August 2021

Final dormer steels installed

The steels for the last of the dormer windows have now been installed. They span an area of the roof which was previously damaged by fire during the Civil War and the charred timbers are now receiving support from the adjacent steelwork. The steelwork has been incredibly complex to design and place within the building, so a big thank you to the team who have done such amazing work completing this complex geometric puzzle. 

7 June 2021

New roof greets the sky

Sections of the temporary roof across the north range are starting to be dismantled, giving Oxburgh’s newly tiled roof its first glimpse of the sky. In the coming weeks some sections that are dismantled will also reveal the changes to the rest of the world, displaying the beautiful black tiles to our visitors. Eagle-eyed viewers may notice that a copper strip has been incorporated at the ridge line of the roof which changes the acidity of the rainwater as it runs over the tiles, preventing moss growth and ensuring the tiles last for many more years.  

3 May 2021

Rebuilding the troublesome dormer

Brickwork has begun on the dormer window which, after unexpectedly collapsing in 2016, exposed a structural weakness in the roofline; launching the Raise the Roof project. It is an exciting stage in the project, to see the dormer which started this work begin to reappear. After everything learnt about Oxburgh Estate’s history, and the discoveries made throughout the project, should this troublesome dormer window be thanked? 

20 April 2021

Repairs to King’s Room masonry

Masons have been working hard to fit new stone into the external façade of the King’s Room, taking great care to match it to the original surroundings. Similar work will be done internally, sandwiching the new stone either side of the window to avoid having to remove any of the glass. 

22 March 2021

Roof tiling begins on the north range

The north range of the roof has now been felt and battened, and almost all the lead detailing has been completed, which means that these areas can begin to be tiled. The uniform black colour and lack of wear stands in contrast to the visual appearance of the old roof, but the tiles appearance will change over time as they weather in. 

As the new roof goes on, the environment is being prepared for the local bat population, which will move back in once the project is finished. There will be areas where amended roof tiles leave space for bat access points and adjustments are being made to some tiles to create friction for bat claws, allowing them to roost. 

26 February 2021

Chimney returns home

This beautiful helical chimney stack has returned home to Oxburgh’s roof, having spent some time with Cambridge Stonecraft receiving repairs to the lime mortar and original pierced cap. 

24 February 2021

Hidden beneath the King’s Room floor

The King’s Room is a key room within the Gatehouse, named after Henry VII who visited Oxburgh Estate in 1498. While work is under way on the roof, the opportunity is being taken to address a long-standing structural issue with a leaning wall and with the floor raised to insert the steel bars that connects the north and south walls, more underfloor archaeology has taken place. 

The main surprise for the archaeologist was the discovery of a thick layer of black material, which turned out be a mix of perfectly preserved oat grains and carpenters' waste (saw dust, wood shavings and offcuts) and ash all trampled down. This means the room has not always been the grandest in the house and in the 17th and 18th centuries had become a functional space, serving as a grain store and workshop. Entombed here were the remains of what had been an invisible tribe of creatures making their home in dark corners of the workshop, including perfectly preserved cellar and mealworm beetles and little mummified families of mice. 

Underneath this was the remains of a timber floor, perhaps the original floor. Resting against one of the rotted joists was a thin bronze coin. This was a jetton, a type of token used for doing calculations and accounts on a chequer board (hence the term exchequer). The jetton dates from the mid to late 16th century, when presumably the room was still a grand and suitable place to do the estate accounts. This timber floor had been constructed on a layer of rubble, which was a mixture of ornamental brick and stone. Could this be evidence for a fine building, which stood on the site before the construction of Oxburgh Estate? 

18 February 2021

King's Room floor is re-laid

As part of the work to stabilise the gatehouse for the future, the team from Messenger removed the Victorian brick tiles in the King’s Room. The work under the floor has now been completed, as has archaeologist Angus Wainwright’s excavation of the area, and the floor is being re-laid. When Messenger originally removed the floor, they numbered every brick and recorded where each one came from; now they are putting this jigsaw puzzle back together. 

15 February 2021

Work begins on gatehouse roof

Leadworkers are now on site and cutting sheeting for the gutters. They will also be working to make the roof of the gatehouse weatherproof and watertight. 

18 January 2021

Weights installed to stabilise chimneys

Large concrete counterweights have been installed behind two of the chimneys to improve their stability. As ever, with such a lofty project, getting the concrete up to roof level was a very difficult task. In the end it was a valiant effort by Messenger, who transported bucket after bucket of the mixture up from ground level. 

22 December 2020

27 chimneys set to be reconstructed

Twenty-seven highly ornate mock-Tudor chimneys are being carefully removed, recorded and completely reconstructed as part of the roof project. Added for decoration in the Victorian era and now in need of urgent repair, only five are being restored using existing bricks. In addition, 12,000 bricks, weighing in at 29 tonnes, are being hand-made, using traditional methods by the brick company that have been supplying bricks to Oxburgh for over 50 years. Bulmer Brick and Tile Company, have worked to restore chimneys on other key historic buildings around the UK, including Hampton Court Palace. 

Part of Oxburgh’s distinctive character, each chimney is slightly different in its design, one of which was so complex, the brick-makers had to turn to a 3D printer to create a special mould. Once the bricks are made, kiln-fired and dried, they arrive at Oxburgh Estate where conservators lay them out in our brick shed, to ensure that the patterns line up. They are then assembled brick by brick, course by course, ensuring they’re straight horizontally and vertically. 

The bricks are bonded together using a hot lime mortar, which achieves very fine joints. After the main stack is built, the crown is constructed, and a harder lime mortar is applied to add further protection from the elements. The chimneys are then finished with a colour wash, to give them their final appearance. This is how all decorative chimneys would have been finished. At Oxburgh, the red colour brings together the structure and hides any joints. The result will be identical to how they would have looked when they were first built in 1830. So far, five chimney stacks have been built and they already look like they’ve always been there. 

30 November 2020

King's Room dig yields more archaeological finds

The excavation of the King’s Room floor has been expanded and the archaeologist has recovered a number of items from under the brickwork. Pieces of glass, nails and even a gun barrel have emerged. The gun barrel was inserted vertically into the floor and showed signs of being hammered into place. Near to the existing window fragments of stained glass, featuring a bird’s bottom, were also recovered. Once again Oxburgh Estate is showing that it is full of surprises. 

23 November 2020

Work to stabilise the Gatehouse begins

The excavation of the King’s Room floor has been completed and is now ready for the strengthening works to begin. The aim of this work is to counteract some of the lateral movement of the gatehouse, which has occurred over a long period of time, and to stop the slight bulging of the south façade. To achieve this, anchors have been placed under the floor of the King’s Room and corresponding holes drilled through the south façade of the gatehouse for them to sit in. The outer brickwork is removed and then replaced back over the drilled holes to keep Oxburgh looking beautiful. Despite this being a very tricky section of work, and one of the most delicate things we have attempted to date, the whole operation went well. 

23 October 2020

Steel rafters arrive for dormer windows

Today the steel rafters arrived on site. They are being used to re-build the dormer windows and will ensure their stability for many years to come. Getting them up to the roof was no mean feat and utilised a variety of winches and gears. Once installed, the masons can get to work putting the dormers back together, reassembling the jigsaw puzzle of carefully numbered bricks currently waiting on the scaffolding. 

12 October 2020

Excavation of the King's Room floor continues

The exploration of the King’s Room floor continues as excavation work reveals gaps in the floor where timber joists would have supported an older (possibly the original) floor. Laid on top of this the archaeologist found a layer of ash, wood shavings, oats and sawdust, suggesting that the space was being used as a workshop between that floor being lifted and the next one laid down. 

21 September 2020

Archaeological excavation begins in King's Room

This week the strengthening works necessary to stabilise the gatehouse began. The first step was to lift part of the brick floor in the King’s Room which the archaeologist will now excavate to check for anything interesting lying below. 

7 September 2020

New timbers installed

In the roof space large sections of old, damaged oak have now been replaced with new timbers. Not only did the challenge of getting them up to the roof have to be dealt with, but the timber also then had to be manoeuvred into position around scaffolding and the existing historic fabric of the roof space. Quite the complicated puzzle! 

3 August 2020

Entire 16th-century book discovered

Tiny pieces of a book called the King’s Psalms had previously been discovered in one of the old rats’ nests at Oxburgh. Just when it seemed that there were no more possible hiding places for finds, today the builders discovered the entire book in a void in the attics. Dating from 1568, the book itself is in amazing condition and most of the text is almost perfectly preserved, with extremely high-quality gilded leather binding. The only other copy known to exist is in the British Library.  

The Kynges Psalmes was originally written by John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, in the first half of the 16th century and first published in England c.1544. Fisher was executed by Henry VIII for refusing to accept him as the supreme head of the Church of England and is honoured as a martyr and a saint by the Catholic church. Interestingly, this edition was translated into English from Fisher’s Latin by none other than Katherine Parr, Henry VIII's sixth wife, who tweaked the emphasis of some of the text (perhaps in collaboration with her husband) in order to emphasise Henry VIII’s religious authority, obedience to God, and military prowess. The English version of The King’s Psalms, which is at Oxburgh, was therefore highly regarded by Protestants. What does this mean in the context of Oxburgh? More work is needed to try to find out. 

15 June 2020

Scaffolding and sheeting nears completion

Great strides have been taken to cover Oxburgh almost entirely in scaffolding and sheeting. This material will act as a temporary roof and protect the building from the elements as roof tiles are removed, exposing the attics for the first time in hundreds of years. The sheeting stretches across the gatehouse, and the north, east and west ranges. 

10 June 2020

High-status Elizabethan textiles unearthed

Contained within a large rats’ nest are hundreds of pieces of textile fragments. On closer inspection, the pieces look to be high-status silks, satins, velvets, linens, decorative embroidery, ribbon and leather, all dating to the late 16th and early 17th centuries. It is thought that the fragments were offcuts from larger pieces of material, or possibly remnants from repairs, suggesting that this part of the house may once have been used by a seamstress.  

One of the largest pieces is brown-gold slashed silk, with each of the slashes revealing gold thread. Slashing was very popular for men’s clothing during the 16th century and was used for doublets, jackets and sleeves. One fabric was placed over another of a contrasting colour which would be revealed through the slashes. The rats can be thanked for the remarkable condition of these textiles; being kept below the floorboards for hundreds of years has prevented them from decaying and enables the team to find out so much more about life at Oxburgh Estate. 

5 June 2020

New temporary bridge in place

A temporary bridge has now been installed across the moat for staff and visitors to access the courtyard and house. The bridge will be in place until the roof project is complete and the gatehouse entrance on the north side of the house will now be used again. 

3 June 2020

Piecing together a 16th-century romance

Lots of tiny handwritten and printed document fragments were discovered under Victorian floorboards which had been laid over 16th- and 17th-century ceilings. Crucially, the Victorian builders hadn’t cleared away the debris from under the original floors when they laid the new boards, and sifting through this rich source of material revealed these fragments.  

One is an extract from the 1590 English edition of book one of ‘The ancient, famous and honourable history of Amadis de Gaule’, a romance dating from c.1420. Throughout the 16th century the tales of Amadis de Gaule ran to 24 books and were a publishing sensation, being translated from Spanish into French, Italian, English, Dutch and Hebrew. According to Dr Helen Moore, Associate Professor of English at Corpus Christi, Cambridge, the book often features on lists of ‘wanton books’ owing to concerns that the subject matter – courtly love, magic and fantastical battles – could lead to corruption of morals, especially in women and the young. How did it get under the floor at Oxburgh? Was it torn up and hidden deliberately? Or perhaps it was dragged beneath the floor by rodents? 

3 June 2020

Secret Tudor music

The remains of tiny fragments of music have been found under Victorian boards. The music has been written using a style called ‘mensural notation’ where the notes are diamond rather an oval shaped, and the stems are straight on top, rather than to one side. This helps to date the music to between the mid-15th century and early 16th century. A 1585 inventory of Oxburgh Estate reveals that there were stringed and wind instruments here at the time. It’s likely that the Bedingfelds, as an East Anglian Catholic family, would have withdrawn from political life under the reign of Elizabeth I, but maintained an active musical life, possibly in order to continue secret masses at Oxburgh. 

27 May 2020

Medieval manuscript found thanks to rats

Today the most significant find of the project so far was made, a page from a medieval manuscript. The object was spotted by a builder in a void behind the original wall plate, under a pile of old peg tiles, and may have been hidden there since alterations were last made to that part of the building in the 17th century. Probably dating from the 15th century, both sides of the manuscript contain passages from the Vulgate Bible Psalm 39 and feature small, illuminated letters in vivid blue and gold. The page was found among the remains of several rats’ nests, so may have been dragged down there by a rat. 

11 May 2020

Surveying Oxburgh

With boards up and roofs exposed, structural engineers Rossi Long have been taking some time to examine the building and to start specifying repairs. This is a critical time, when the true extent of the work needed will be discovered and – importantly – how much some of those repairs may cost. These investigations will continue over the coming weeks. 

9 May 2020

Exciting wallpaper discovery

This beautiful trellis wallpaper has been discovered in what would once have been a cupboard accessible from inside one of the attic rooms. It was obviously walled up at some point, so was only able to be seen when the roof tiles were removed. It is thought to date to around 1820 to 1830 with an even earlier 18th-century paper hidden underneath. This pattern has not been seen anywhere else in the house and its quality reveals that this room must once have been quite high status. 

7 May 2020

‘Contraband’ chocolate box uncovered

A tasty discovery was made this week, a discarded – and possibly hidden – box of Terry’s Gold Leaf chocolates. Dating from the 1940s, all the packaging, individual chocolate wrappers and even the tissue paper are all in place – but sadly no chocolate! Produced under rationing restrictions of the Second World War, were these chocolates contraband? Clearly whoever ate them didn’t want anyone else to know about them so hid the evidence… 

5 May 2020

Keeping an eye out for bats

As the roof tiles are removed, bat consultant Jane Harris has been on hand supervising the works and making sure the bats are okay. So far Jane has rescued six common pipistrelles, one soprano pipistrelle and one brown long-eared bat during the roof strip. None have been injured and all have been safely released to bat boxes elsewhere on site. 

3 May 2020

The first tiles are removed

After months of hard work erecting the temporary roofing, this week a start was finally made on stripping off roof coverings. While the condition of timbers was in some ways expected, it’s clear that there is a lot of work to do and that the project is very much needed. It will take about a week to complete the north range, before moving on to the gatehouse. 

1 May 2020

Historic wallpaper protection

The collections team have been working hard over the last few months to find the best ways to protect historic wallpapers in situ during the project. This work has been carefully overseen by Ilana van Dort, senior house steward, who is leading on conservation during the roof project, with help and guidance from Dr Phillippa Mapes, wallpaper conservation expert. Wallpapers will be protected from dust and damage with a mixture of specialist conservation materials. Once Ilana and Phillippa are happy that the wallpapers are safely protected, the removal of roof coverings can begin. 

28 April 2020

What lies beneath the floorboards?

Floorboards will start to be lifted in the north range to allow archaeologist Matthew Champion to undertake initial fingertip searches. Many of the floorboards haven’t been lifted for hundreds of years and the voids beneath them are filled with thick layers of dust and debris. This is a painstaking process as historic boards are fragile and it takes time to lift them without causing any damage (and to number them so it is known exactly where they need to be returned!) The team expects to find things like buttons, pins, cigarette packets and perhaps bits of old newspapers. 

27 April 2020

Moving the last items from the attics

Messenger has dismantled one of the dormers on the east side of Oxburgh in order to allow the last of the collection items to be moved from the attic spaces through the window void. Items will then be safely collected and moved off site by removal specialists for safe keeping in storage until the roof project is complete. 

20 April 2020

Chimney rebuilding

Chimney rebuilding has been a great success so far. Two chimneys are now almost complete at the southern end of the east range. Bricks are arriving from Bulmer Brick & Tile company to complete the crowns and the finished chimneys are receiving sample colourwashes so that the level of colouring for their final appearance can be selected. The original chimneys would have received a red colourwash with the aim of making the mortar lines less visible to look more or less like a solid block. In contrast, on some chimneys there is evidence that the mortar joints were originally painted black. 

20 April 2020

Paint and construction research begins

The team have engaged a specialist archaeologist from Pre-Construct Archaeology to carry out a detailed survey of the gatehouse so that they can continue to learn about Oxburgh’s construction history. The survey includes looking closely at the materials used in the construction of the gatehouse, and recording any evidence of construction phases, alterations to the building and external decoration. Some very intriguing areas of, possibly original, pinky red paint layers have been found on the north façade. A paint researcher will be taking samples to try and date them and reveal more about what this may mean. 

14 April 2020

Dormer dismantling begins

Messenger has begun the task of dismantling two of the courtyard side dormers so that they can access examples of bricks that need to be replaced. These bricks will then be sent to Bulmer Brick & Tile company who will make new bricks using the original Victorian moulds. The team are building protective frames around the windows to close off the gaps left by the vacant window. It takes about four days to dismantle each dormer. As much as possible will be repaired offsite and put together again when the windows are rebuilt. 

6 April 2020

Complexity of scaffolding revealed

With 30 miles of scaffolding, 20 miles of boarding and 34,000 attachments, Oxburgh’s scaffold is certainly an impressive sight. With the country in lockdown due to coronavirus, plans have had to change to keep everyone safe. Due to the stage of the project, to ensure that the scaffolding is secure and the building watertight, the project continues with new safety measures and social distancing in place. The support scaffold is nearly complete and work can begin on the temporary roof. Work starts by erecting the roof beams, before rolling out sheeting on special tracks. 

27 February 2020

Historic graffiti discovery

The team has been on the lookout for historic graffiti, which includes marks on brickwork, timbers and windows and may consist of initials, inscriptions, dates, apotropaic devices (to ward off evil), carpentry marks, masons’ marks and taper burn marks. Investigations led to the discovery of some never before seen compass-drawn designs and hatch-marks by a chimney which were thought to catch evil before it entered the room. Carpenter’s marks were also found on some timbers and initials at the bottom of the spiral staircase. How many more secrets will be uncovered? 

21 February 2020

Work begins on the chimneys

The scaffolding is going up, which means there is now greater access to the roof. Following the recent high winds, courtesy of Storm Ciara and Storm Dennis, work to the chimneys has been brought forward, which involves carefully removing several of them from the roof. Oxburgh will need to close while this work takes place, but the team looks forward to welcoming visitors again soon.  

29 January 2020

Conserving the leather wall-hangings

The Leather Conservation Centre have been on site and completed their work to remove the 18th-century leather wall-hangings at the top of the west staircase, or protect them in situ where their removal hasn't been possible. This is because these delicate wall coverings are next to one of the dormer windows that will need dismantling, as part of the conservation project. In order to minimise the impact on the leather, the protection materials have been carefully chosen for their waterproof and breathable qualities. Luckily, some of the leather had been mounted on canvas, which in turn was mounted on wood panels and these sections have been able to be removed in their entirety. These panels will be stored on site in an environmentally monitored space for the duration of the project.    

19 December 2019

Packing up the collection

The invasive nature of this project will have a big impact on what can be kept in the attic spaces and, in some cases, the first-floor areas of the house. It means thousands of collection items need to be removed from these spaces and found new homes for the duration of the project. It's a mammoth task that will involve packing, labelling and moving items, as well as keeping records of what's been moved where. And it’s a real mix of items that need to find temporary homes, including paintings, textiles, metal-ware, taxidermy, weaponry, ceramics and furniture. 

9 December 2019

And so it begins!

It's been years in the planning, but work has now started in earnest on site. This week a large crane arrived at Oxburgh, so that contractors can begin moving hundreds of sandbags into the moat. Following on from successful scaffolding trials in the summer, these will form the base of one of the most complex engineer-designed scaffold constructions ever attempted in the East of England. 

13 November 2019

Taking down the tapestries

Oxburgh has some rather special tapestries, which need to be protected from damage while the roof project is under way. Experts from the National Trust's Textile Conservation Studio have been called in to help take them down and pack them away. This included the Marian Hangings, which were worked on by Mary Queen of Scots and Bess of Hardwick, and are on loan to Oxburgh from the Victoria & Albert Museum. 

14 October 2019

Contractor arrives on site

Messenger Construction Ltd. has been appointed to carry out the works at Oxburgh Estate and this week they arrived on site. Messenger is a contractor that specialises in the conservation and repair of historic buildings, bringing a wealth of experience of working with listed sites. 

They have previously worked on important buildings and monuments such as Belton House, Wrest Park Pavilion, Stowe School, Hanbury Hall, Apethorpe Palace and Nevill Holt Opera Theatre, for which they were shortlisted for the RIBA 2019 Stirling Prize and winner of the People's Vote. 

Messenger has also been appointed to complete the roof repairs at Ickworth, allowing the sharing of knowledge and learning across two of the region’s important conservation projects. 

Messenger will coordinate all of the works taking place at Oxburgh as part of the Raise the Roof Project, working with its team of expert craftsmen to deliver crucial repairs to Oxburgh’s roofscape, including the rebuilding of dormers, chimneys and the replacement of existing roof coverings.  

16 August 2019

Bat survey and re-homing the bats

The bat population at Oxburgh likes to hang around in the peace and quiet of the attic spaces. However, the attics are the areas that will see the greatest disturbance as we peel back and repair the roof. The team has therefore had to seek out special permission and a temporary residence for the bats and have settled on one of the turreted towers, set into the estate wall, where they will be far removed from the hustle and bustle of the building work. 

31 July 2019

Dismantling the first chimney

During the project the team will be dismantling and rebuilding chimneys that are showing signs of structural weakness. Most of them cannot be assessed until the scaffold goes up, but two have been dismantled to test our method of repair. With help from a brick conservation expert, who has been working on the chimneys at Hampton Court Palace, it has been discovered that the chimneys were built with a cement-based mortar, rather than lime. This would have been a very new product at the time they were originally built and it seems that the masons didn’t really know how to mix it! As a result, the mortar is very hard, which has contributed to the structural problems today. It will make the repairs harder to carry out than first thought.  

15 July 2019

Scaffold trials in the moat

The moat cannot be drained for any significant length of time and the clay lining of the moat can’t be punctured, so engineers have devised and tested an ingenious way of spreading the load of the scaffolding, which will involve using large sandbags. Luckily, the trial has revealed that the method works, with just the need to regularly monitor and make adjustments over time. It has also been revealed that different-sized sandbags will be needed for the foundations, as the level of the moat varies around the hall. 

26 June 2019

Oxburgh is awarded National Lottery Heritage Fund boost

Thanks to a £132,900 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Oxburgh is pleased to now reveal that there will be a whole new visitor experience to look forward to from 2020, which will present new opportunities to delve deeper into the story of Oxburgh Estate.