Case study: Chester Town Hall Heritage Ironwork

Dorothea Restorations was sub-contracted to carry out a variety of specialised repairs to the Chester Town Hall building including restoration of the ornate wrought and cast iron ridge cresting and the wrought iron finials.


Dorothea teams worked on various restoration projects, including the refurbishment of a variety of window styles including sash windows, leaded casements and stained glass windows.

A major part of the works involved repairs and restoration to the ornate wrought and cast iron ridge cresting and the wrought iron finials, all of which had succumbed to corrosion.

These were labelled and removed from the roof, and taken to our Whaley Bridge workshop where our blacksmiths undertook repairs and reformed missing wrought iron sections using genuine recycled wrought iron. 

Damaged cast iron sections were repaired or, in the case of the cast iron ridge plates, replaced if badly corroded. The restored ironwork was re-fitted to the roof as the main contractor had finished its repair.



Chester Town Hall History 



Following a tragic fire in 1862, when the original Exchange was destroyed, a competition was held to build a new town hall. Architect William Henry Lynn won and a Gothic-style building of pink and buff sandstone with a grey/green slate roof, was built with works being completed in 1869.

Almost symmetrical, the structure features ten bays, a gabled tower adorned with ornate cresting and finials and a diagonal spire at a height of 50 metres. Fortunately, little has changed externally to this day, preserving this piece of architectural heritage. 

 

 

 

 

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