Leading property and construction consultant Ingleton Wood is working with one of the world’s most prestigious professional bodies of barristers, the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn, on a major remedial programme of their historic estate in central London.
Two years ago, Ingleton Wood, which has a track record of work on historic buildings, helped complete a refurbishment project on one of the Inn’s grade 1 listed buildings.
With a view to this further package of work, building services engineers from the practice, which has offices across East Anglia and London, spent months surveying the whole estate, which stretches over 11 acres.
Still in daily use, the Inn’s Old Hall dates back to the 1490s with Tudor beams and stained-glass windows, while the Great Hall and library were opened by Queen Victoria. The estate has featured in many film and TV productions.
Wesley Henderson, Director of Building Services Engineering at Ingleton Wood, said: “I’ve been a mechanical and electrical engineer for 30 years and you never know exactly what you are going to find here.”
Some curiosities he and his team came across during their survey included ornate brass radiators in the library and a cast-iron circular radiator.
He said: “It’s a real privilege to be working there. In some ways you feel like a curator. When you are looking to do repairs, or replacements, you have to think carefully about how this would affect the building fabric.”
Seeking to minimise disruption to commercial and residential tenants, the Inn is programming the remedial work in five-year cycles. Wesley and his team provided a ten-year prioritised mechanical and electrical plan for the Estate.
Remedial works include electrical repairs and replacement, plumbing and heating as well as renewing the entire water services across the estate.
A spokesman for the Inn said: “We take seriously our responsibilities for this very special estate in the centre of London: our buildings remain in daily use and require expert care so that we can be confident that this will continue to be the case in the future. We are pleased to be working with Ingleton Wood in preserving the Inn for future generations.”
Ingleton Wood is one of the largest property and construction consultancies covering Central England, East Anglia, London and the South East, with offices in Colchester, Norwich, Cambridge, Billericay, Oxford and London. Its services include architecture, building surveying, building services engineering, planning, interior design, civil and structural engineering, quantity surveying, project management and health and safety.
For more information visit www.ingletonwood.co.uk