Historical Buildings of Chesham
Chesham is a market town nestled in the Buckinghamshire Chilterns with a rich housing stock of beautiful period buildings dating back to the 13th century.
We were delighted to receive an instruction to carry out conservation work to the Grade II listed building 54 Church Street, the oldest building in Chesham.
The Problem:
Upon inspection, the wall finishes which were not original were presenting low-level spoiling and peeling paintwork.
Our main objective was to offer the client a dry non-spoiling surface with recognition of the original methods and materials used in the construction of this historically important Grade II listed building.
After removing gypsum plaster we revealed the original flint napping wall with a render coat of horse hair and lime.
All of these locally produced materials show an almost prescient understanding of sustainability.
We explained to the client that applying a hard cement render to these walls, as suggested by our competitors, would be detrimental to a building which forms such a vital part of Chesham’s heritage.
The modern gypsum plaster which was removed from the wall is an unsuitable product as it is highly rigid and inflexible with a tendency to develop cracks as the old walls flex in tune with the seasonal ground conditions.
A Sympathetic Solution
By applying a rustic lime render to the wall we were able to offer a dry non-spoiling surface while also acknowledging the original materials which were first used in the construction of this house.
Lime or clay plaster can have a more pleasing character as well as offering better internal comfort by promoting “breathability”, allowing water vapour out of the property rather than trapping it in.
Aftercare advice given to the client was to use a breathable clay paint formulation or lime wash such as those available from Old House Store If the original lime plaster was still intact we might have been able to recycle it by simply hacking it off, breaking it into smaller pieces and sieving it into fine granules. It could then have been mixed with new sand and water to form a fresh lime plaster. This is about as “sustainable” and “green” as buildings get!
