Works are underway: Will Palin gives an update on our North Wing restoration
Barts Heritage chief executive Will Palin reveals how the restoration of the North Wing at St Bartholomew’s Hospital is progressing.
Works to the beautiful North Wing at Barts began in January this year led by our main contractor Coniston Ltd and guided by our architects from Purcell. Our building is large and complex and the first phase of works have focussed on two main areas – the Great Hall, where two layers of historic floorboards have been lifted and new services installed, and the building exterior around which a monumental scaffolding has been rising for since March.
Four months on the scaffolding is complete. Behind the neat white ‘shrink-wrapping’, stonemasons have been busy cleaning and repairing Portland Stone, and our specialist carpenters have been removing, repairing and repainting each of the 160 sash windows. Up on the roof, under the protection of an impressive temporary cover, the thousands of Georgian slates have been stripped sorted and stored, eventually to be re-laid together with 400 metres of new lead guttering.
The great clock – the central feature of the south elevation – has been removed for restoration by Thwaites & Reed, the same firm who made and installed the dial and mechanism in the 18th century. In the Great Hall, where miles of new cabling and pipework has been installed beneath the floor, a ‘birdcage’ scaffolding with observation deck is now in place. This is supported by six steel struts which extend through the windows, fixing to the external scaffolding, so leaving the floor of the Hall unencumbered. This deck will provide access to the plaster ceiling for a team of conservators – and will also host visitors on our public scaffolding tours.
As work proceeds on the ornate plaster ceiling in the Great Hall, painting conservators will also begin the process of cleaning and conserving the vast canvases in Hogarth Stair, again in full view of the visiting public. Here, the magnificent 1740s carved chandelier has been lowered and moved to allow cleaning and repair work to proceed.
In early 2025, once this work is complete and our new lighting system installed, the scaffolding will come down in both spaces and the oak floor will be replaced in Hall. The panelling, doors and staircase will be gently darkened and polished to complete the transformation of these nationally important interiors.
Works are due to complete next summer with the Hall reopening in September 2025.
Sharing Historic Barts is a project to repair, conserve and rejuvenate the historic buildings of St Bartholomew’s Hospital starting with the Grade I-listed North Wing, with its spectacular Great Hall and staircase decorated by William Hogarth. The North Wing works are now underway and we will reopen in the autumn of 2025, offering a year-round programme of cultural events, education and activities to support health and wellbeing.
Pictured: Sections of stained glass from the Charter Window have been carefully removed prior to repair
Read the latest Sharing Historic Barts project bulletin (summer 2024) in full.
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