The Old Rectory, Wenvoe:
Part 1: Georgian Sash Windows
This Grade II listed Regency style building, linked to the adjacent listed church, was built in 1842. The former home of the eminent archaeologist Professor Richard Atkinson, the property was converted into a residential care home in the late 20th Century, with part of the gardens being developed into private housing along with the former coach house.
In 2021/22, The Old Rectory was once again being converted, this time into luxury apartments. Due to the heritage status of the building LM Conservation was approached by the developers to preserve as much of the remaining original external architectural joinery as possible. This was determined by the conservation officer assigned to the project and totalled 8 original Georgian style sash windows; 5 on the east and 3 on the north elevation. As well as the original Regency style front door and semi-circular fanlight (See below).
Despite extensive damage and decay, 7 of the 8 double-sash windows were successfully repaired and much of the unbroken original glass reclaimed and re-installed. The eighth window was so badly degraded that the frame and both sashes had to be completely re-made. Working directly from the other surviving windows and frames, the window was faithfully replicated to match the original exactly.
The Old Rectory, Wenvoe:
Part 2: Regency Front Doorway
The restoration of the front door and semi-circular fan-light was carried out in the workshop. Much of the work to the door consisted of removing inappropriate additions and adaptations and repairing the damage that they had caused.
The original external architrave had been lost and replaced relatively recently with modern, pre-made, moulded timbers of insufficient quality, that were not in-keeping with the style of the original doorway. A new architrave was sensitively designed and produced in the workshop, using a combination of machining and hand carving, later to be fitted on site.
The nearly 200 year-old oak frame required some structural repairs; to the lower portion of the jambs, as well as the addition of a new timber sill, and some minor surface repairs, all of which was carried out on site.
Simple, sensitive conservation considerations, such as robust and effective draft excluders, successfully managed the meeting of old and new, making this period property a comfortable home environment for modern living.
