The two-year £12m restoration of Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire – overseen by specialist conservation contractor DBR is nearing completion.
The scheme is scheduled be completed by the end of October. The prominent statue of Britannia can now be seen standing atop the Palace and the Great Court’s columns are exposed, allowing visitors to see the recognisable view of the 300-year-old palace.
The project’s main focus was restoring a substantial section of the Great Hall roof of the building, including the attic timbers and ceilings below.
Over the past three centuries, these have been severely affected by damp, roof leaks, smoke damage, dirt, mould, decay, collapsed ceilings and a loss of historic fabric.
Heather Carter, Blenheim Palace's managing director, said: “The success of this project is the result of an exceptional collaborative effort across a whole team of specialists, from our conservation engineers, architects and consultants to our project managers, heritage, operations and maintenance teams, all working together behind the scenes to protect and restore this extraordinary building for future generations. It’s been a massive effort."
The project team on the scheme includes:
- Architect - Donald Insall Associates
- Engineer - Frank Haywood Associates
- QS - Ridge
- Project Management- Blenheim Palace Heritage Foundation
- M&E - Ingleton Wood
- Painting Conservators - Opus Conservation
- Stone Masonry - Alex Wenham, Summit Stonemasons
- Gilding - Oxford Ironmongery
Wonderful to read about this successful undertaking, having worked on the Palace program of ongoing restoration in the 70’s with my time as a Trainee Surveyor with Kingerlee Ltd!