
Expert advice
Featured expert:
Butcher Plasterworks
Original period details, such as plaster cornices and ceiling roses, not to mention mirror frames and fireplace surrounds are often what distinguish the charming home from the indifferent house.
If you buy a typical 18th, 19th or early 20th century house, the chances are that at least some of the original mouldings have been ripped out, or they have fallen into disrepair.
North London-based Butcher Plasterworks is one of the few specialist companies that still use fibrous plaster, which is both tough and versatile, since it is made from a mixture of plaster and hessian, to make bespoke architectural details.
Whether you want a run of cornice or something more fancy, this small company will be able to suggest a solution, either replicating what is there or using its own huge pictorial reference library.
Prices to supply and fix replacement cornicing from £25 per metre.
Butcher Plasterworks, Chalcot Yard, 8 Fitzroy Road, NW1 8TX.
Telephone 020 7720 9771 or see
www.butcherplasterworks.com.
National heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage is probably best known for its historic sites, which are open to the public. Less well known is its role in looking after the historic environment as a whole, including historic buildings, monuments and areas, and archaeological remains. It aims not only to ensure the preservation of our historic surroundings for the future, but also to encourage people to appreciate and enjoy this heritage today.
www.english-heritage.org.ukNational Trust
The National Trust protects and opens to the public more than 300 historic houses and gardens and 49 industrial monuments and mills. It also looks after forests, woods, fens, beaches, farmland, downs, moorland, islands, archaeological remains, castles, nature reserves and villages.
www.nationaltrust.org.ukBritish Urban Regeneration Association (BURA)
The leading independent organisation in regeneration.
www.bura.org.uk