Tilstone House Stately Home Damaged In Fire

Tilstone House Stately Home Damaged In Fire

It’s always so sad to hear about damage being done to period properties of all shapes and sizes and it seems that Cheshire is getting more than its fair share at the moment.

Not only did Lyme Park have to close its doors in August last year because of serious flooding that damaged buildings, paths and roads right across the estate, but now the county’s Tilstone House stately home has just been badly damaged in a serious fire.

According to the BBC, 50 firefighters battled the blaze on Sunday (January 12th), with the Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service saying it had spread to all three floors of the 19th century mansion.

Luckily, the house was empty when the fire broke out and no injuries have been reported, but the A51 at Tilstone Fearnall was closed in both directions by police, with water pumped up from the Shropshire Union Canal.

As for Lyme Park, which you may well recognise as the home of Mr Darcy in the 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, it was the 17 acres of garden that took the most damage during the flooding, with planting, fences and paths all washed away.

We always hate to hear about properties being damaged, whether that’s through fire, flood or simply wear and tear over time. If you have a period property in need of restoration and need particular help with plaster coving, get in touch with the team here at Ovolo to see what we can do to bring your building back into the land of the living.

Plaster Cornices

Here are some points worth noting to aid your decision when contemplating different cornice products, as well as to help eliminate paying for a poorly-made product:

·      Traditional cornices were cast using three materials; Plaster of Paris, hessian and wooden laths.

·      Modern cornices are now made from polystyrene, plasterboard or glass-reinforced plaster (GRP) commonly.

·      Many companies still make cornice traditionally, particularly in England.

·      There are many different quality plasters available for manufacture; varying from approximately £5 per 25kg bag, up to £40+ per 25kg.

·      There are different lath thicknesses. Naturally, you will want to use the thickest lath possible, which will benefit the strength and fixing of the cornice.

·      Traditionally made plaster cornices adhere to most fire regulations rules, if made correctly.

·      Every cornice should have a bracket (lath or hessian) on the back to increase strength.

·      Hessian allows the cornice to be flexible. This is a great advantage when working in a building where the walls and ceilings aren’t straight or level.

·      There should be no hessian visible on the finished face of the cornice once dry.

·      The cornice should be around 7-10mm thick in all places – to avoid weak points.

·      If there is cracking visible on the face of your cornice, it is likely because the laths were dry in the process of manufacturing the cornice.