Clifton Joinery has replaced or restored more than 30 large timber sash windows at Stowe School, one of the most important examples of 18th century British architecture.
The contract, worth about £40,000, formed part of a multi-million pound restoration of the building, which is on the World Monuments Fund list for the most endangered sites of significance worldwide, as well as English Heritage‘s register of buildings at risk.
Bristol-based Clifton disassembled and restored original windows in its workshops and made a number of replacements using oak. Several windows were more than 3m in height, while one sash was 2,119mm wide.
Architects required Clifton to bag old putty while removing windows for date testing.
Clifton director Stephen Newton, who described the contract as complex, said: “You do not really get to work on a building like that twice in you life. It’s so special.”
The job also required restoration of several doors and screens.
