Ludlow Castle’s 11th Century Round Chapel, one of the oldest in Europe, is to have a new roof.
For the first time since it fell into ruin the much photographed Norman Chapel inside the Inner Bailey is to be repaired and re-roofed by Shropshire building company Phillips & Curry who specialise in Building Conservation, conversion and intervention. They have traditional values and workmanship with a thoroughly modern approach.
“This is a very exciting project and we have worked closely with experts from Historic England for the past 3 years to get the project off the ground” stated Jack Tavernor, representative of the owner, the Earl of Powis. “The roof is constructed in oak using traditional methods. There are no existing drawings or photos for reference but our Architect Mike Garner from Garner Southall in Llandod has researched roof structures of the time and he and Historic England are confident that it will be in keeping”.
The roof has been built off-site and will be transported to the Castle in kit form for fabrication once the crenellations have been rebuilt. The stone and mortar to be used has been agreed by Heritage England and was chosen to match a panel of post 16th Century blocking on the Chapel so as to distinguish later work from original; a mix of stone from 2 local quarries was selected; a green buff stone from Garstone Farm Weobley and a red buff stone from Weston Hill Bredwardine.
The work is to protect the fabric of the Chapel and increase its longevity for future generations to enjoy. It will also provide an all-weather wedding venue.
Work started on the 1st October and is expected to take between 22 - 24 weeks to complete.
The Custodian, Sonja Belchere confirmed “The Castle will continue to be open to the public. We have put information boards outside the chapel listing the works the contractors are carrying out with the architect’s drawings. Staff and workmen will be happy to talk about the project and our resident Archaeologist Leon Bracelin is there on a watching brief. Jack Poyner built a model to scale using the Architects drawings and photographs which is on display in the Gift Shop showing the completed roof”.
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