J W Doyes
Apethorpe Hall - Northampton
Client: English Heritage.
Project Value: £150,000.
Description: General Asbestos Removal.
Apethorpe Hall is a Grade 1 Listed Building. The removal of asbestos material from locations of highly sensitive areas had to be undertaken in a very careful and controlled manner to avoid any damage to the integrity of the building which is currently being tenderly brought back to a fit state to ensure no advance stages of deteriation occurs.
Apethorpe Hall, near Oundle in Northamptonshire, is a major country house dating back to the 15th century. Its state apartment suite was rebuilt in 1622-4 to receive James I, and still has one of the finest sets of Jacobean interiors of the period, with decorative plaster ceilings, fireplaces and panelling.
The house was abandoned to neglect and decay from 1982, becoming one of the leading buildings at risk in the country. Following compulsory purchase action, English Heritage took over the site in 2004 and commenced a £4m programme of rescue works. On completion of this repair programme in 2008, English Heritage plans to seek a new purchaser who will restore the Hall for use as a country house. To accompany the repair works, a major programme of historical and archaeological research is being undertaken, with many new discoveries coming to light.