We have travelled the length and breadth of the UK in our work helping to restore some stunning historic properties.

We’ve been as far as Edinburgh, the Peak District, the Lake District and London to carry out surveys this year alone.

Recently, however, we were in the unusual situation of working on two jobs right here in the Midlands.

The first was at the beautiful St Mary’s House, in Lichfield, parts of which date back to the 13^th Century.

Now used as offices for the Diocese of Lichfield, the property is in The Close, and is one of a cluster of historic buildings surrounding and linked to the wonderful Lichfield Cathedral.

St Mary’s House itself was the subject of an archaeological building recording, which found much of the property dated to the 14th century, but there was evidence to suggest that the earliest extant parts were of 13th century origin.

The property may be one of two canon’s houses known to have been commissioned by Bishop Langton in the late 13th or early 14th century.

The first house on this site was probably built in the early 14th century and would have been originally L-shaped. It includes a distinctive defensive turret.

One window was identified through its construction to have dated from the late 15^th Century. The inside of the house was extended in 1710 and was reconfigured again around 1805. In 1851 it became the vicarage for St Mary’s and there were further alterations in the 1860s. It became diocesan offices in 1965 and the house was most recently refurbished in the late 1980s.

The property still retains clues to its medieval origins, including arrow slits on the turret and part of the Close wall. There are also rumours of secret tunnel.

We were called in by the Diocese of Lichfield to help work on this historic Grade II listed house, now used as offices by the diocese.

We were recommended for the job by a conservation officer who we had worked with previously. We added secondary glazing to all the windows, which took some expert precision measuring as all the windows were unique shapes. The work was done in preparation for the staff coming back into work after the pandemic.

This job was even closer to home for us on another Grade II listed building, which has been converted into apartments at Great Cornbow Street in Halesowen.

Once used as council offices, the building has now been converted into apartments.

It’s historic and distinctive frontage is a well-loved sight for people in Halesowen and many of our staff are familiar with the building. Again, we were asked to install secondary glazing to all windows, one apartment at a time. It was amazing to work on a building which is so familiar to our staff. We are all very fond of this property and it was wonderful to be able to put something back into the local community.

It was fantastic to be asked to complete both of these jobs and it meant the world to us to be able to put something back into our local community.

To find out more about the benefits of our secondary glazing units, please click here.