News
Preservation works to be undertaken on Bristol’s heritage museums
10 Sept 2024
Matthew Appleton
Strategic Account Director
Helping preserve Bristol’s cultural heritage, two of the city’s most iconic listed museums have undergone condition surveys to identify suitable maintenance programmes.
The inspections of the Grade I-listed Red Lodge Museum, and the Grade II* listed Georgian House Museum, are part of an ongoing effort to preserve and enhance the city’s heritage sites, ensuring continued public use.
Appointed by Bristol City Council, multi-disciplinary consultancy Pick Everard conducted thorough inspections of the built fabric of the historic buildings, which involved recording construction types, identifying defects, and recommending remedial work.
Both condition surveys were visual, non-invasive, and conducted while the museums remained open, with minimal disruption to staff and visitors.
“Our team used drone equipment to be able to investigate the roof and upper exterior walls, which would have otherwise been inaccessible and omitted from the survey report.
— Matthew Appleton, strategic account director at Pick Everard
“This equipment was invaluable in allowing us to quickly gain a broad understanding of the roof type and condition, before making arrangements to access and deliver targeted inspections of the concerning areas.
“Our survey was a visual and non-intrusive inspection, with our findings outlining further recommendations including foundational investigations, asbestos identification, handling, management and disposal, and the specification of conversation repairs.”
The condition reports conducted by Pick Everard fed into feasibility studies to improve the museum’s offering to the public, including options for bringing unused or underutilised space back into the visitor experience.
The remedial works, also recommended by the firm, were sympathetic to the buildings' traditional materials and fabric, ensuring that the city’s heritage museums will continue to educate and inspire the next generation.
Matthew added: “Utilising our in-house expertise of the historic built environment, we ensured our recommendations were appropriate and considered, bearing in mind the context of the museums, both of which are listed and publicly visited.
“Both photographs and site plans were used effectively to communicate defects and share recommendations with all key stakeholders.”
The maintenance programmes and capital works, required to keep the museums operational, are currently being reviewed, with a maintenance cycle set to be put in place to ensure repair works are carried out regularly, and that the heritage significance of the buildings is preserved for future generations.
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