Re-roofing at Cavendish Hall

Cavendish Hall sits on the edge of a pretty village in Suffolk. It is an early Regency manor house of great charm and was generously bequeathed to us in 2009.

The building is substantial. Today it sleeps up to 12 guests in well-proportioned rooms across three floors. An outbuilding shelters a table tennis table.

Prior to Coronavirus hitting we had been working on a significant slate re-roofing project, led by our surveyor for East Anglia Steve Donelan. The pandemic forced us to delay the second phase, but in winter 2020 we were able to pick up tools once again thanks to the Culture Recovery Fund.

We were delighted to employ a team of real specialists through the elongated project. Philip Orchard from Whitworth Architect was the Principal Designer and 3A Roofing Ltd our contractor. Philip has worked with Landmark for many years providing invaluable advice and assistance. 3A were new to Landmark but, with significant experience of re-roofing projects on heritage properties, they have proven a great addition to our roster of contractors.

Roof tiles were stripped, the timber roof structure inspected and generally found better than anticipated. Tilting fillets at the eaves needed renewing, some of the boarding too. Conservation carpentry repairs were enacted across rotten sections of timber. New lead was laid, new battens installed and new slate selected from the Penrhyn quarry, noted for their quality and slight purple hue to match the many existing slates we reused. The cast iron gutters were found to be in good condition structurally but less so decoratively, therefore they were stripped back and repainted prior to reinstatement.

Taken together the works will ensure this manor house remains weathertight for future generations of Landmarkers. Photographs below show the project unfolding.