11th October 2007
Restoring Cusworth's Winning Charm
Woodhead, awarded the FMB Master Builder of the Year Award 2007 for the region.
Woodhead was recommended for the award by Julie Harrup Assistant Curator at Cusworth Hall for Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council.
The judges, who considered the project to be of the highest standard available in the industry, also awarded Woodhead a Certificate of Excellence and have chosen Woodhead to represent the Region in the National Awards in the 'Large Renovation Projects' category.
Woodhead's £2.55 million restoration project has helped restore Cusworth Hall and it's grounds to their former glory. Dating from 1740, Cusworth Hall was built by George Platt, a local builder and architect, to be the home of the Battie-Wrightson family. Additional extensions work were carried out by James Paine in 1749-53 before the Hall fell into a serious state of disrepair and was purchased by Doncaster Rural District Council in 1961 to be developed into a public museum and park.
Woodhead and Purcell Miller Tritton, the project architects, committed to replicating the original build methods and materials chosen by George Platt and James Paine throughout the high quality repair work, including the extensive stonework repairs, re-roofing and the painstaking conservation of ceiling paintings in the old chapel.
The experience gained by Woodhead on previous award winning heritage projects including the restoration project undertaken with the National Trust at The Workhouse, Southwell and The Clock Towers at Welbeck Abbey proved invaluable in the sourcing of specialist contractors and authentic materials. Attention to the finest of details was a priority, with original materials such as horse hair plaster, lime render, reed flooring and lead based paints being used. The chapel floor was preserved and rectified, again using original techniques but taking advantage of modern knowledge to allow Woodhead to strengthen and re-joist areas of damaged flooring. Further achievements of this scheme include an innovative design solution introduced by Woodhead for installing a lift shaft through brick arched vaults within the existing building.
The site management during this restoration project was of the highest standard, with regards to both efficiency and safety. Woodhead achieved zero reportable accidents and managed to ensure the grounds and facilities could remain open to the public during restoration work.
Federation of Master Builders Regional Director, Ron Wilson says: "The only entrants for this award come on client recommendation for projects carried out to a high level of customer satisfaction and quality. This extremely complex project was carried out to very exacting standards and not many firms could have handled so many specialist materials and contractors, whilst liaising with the client on a daily basis. As a former FMB award winner, Woodhead's name is now synonymous with customer care and quality, and its care and attention to detail at Cusworth was second to none".
"We at Woodhead are particularly pleased and proud to accept the award for this project considering the detailed nature of the work and the potential difficulties overcome by Woodhead of working on an open public site. Our good relationships with contractors, the client and the design team from the outset we believe were key to project success and our ongoing successes on future heritage projects." David Woodhead.
