CAPITAL CHURCH GETS A COPPER CROWN

A famous London landmark has got a new look thanks to the our specialist craftsmen.

Our craftsmen have just completed a 15-week project at The Priory Church of the Order of St John of Jerusalem in Clerkenwell to restore the historic building’s copper roof. 

We beat competition from a number of London rivals to secure the six-figure project.

Darrell Warren, Contract Manager of the Roofing and Stained Glass Division, said:

“Restoration contracts in London are notoriously hard to win, due to the intense competition from firms in the capital. Simply winning this prestigious contract was a real achievement.

“The hard work continued on site. The original roof had failed and needed to be completely stripped from the structure before the new copper roof could be lifted into place by crane.

“We also needed to construct a temporary roof over the whole building to prevent the weather getting in. Only then could we begin to carefully position the long, but wafer thin sheets of copper onto the roof.

“Completing the mammoth task in just 15 weeks is testimony to the quality of craftsmanship and the dedication of the team of ‘roofing plumbers’.”

The project saw craftsmen lay 400 square metres of copper sheeting – about the same area as a full-size tennis court. The delicate process involved placing four and a half tonnes of wafer thin copper sheeting, less than a millimetre thick, onto the church roof.

The new bright brown roof will slowly go green over the next 15 years as the capital’s weather conditions naturally oxidise the material.

The Priory of England and the Islands, part of the Order of St John, owns the building and uses it for services and investitures.

Parts of the church date back to the twelfth century, although much of the building was re-constructed after severe damage in World War II.