Masonry Repair to Grade II Listed Building

Set in the beautiful rolling Hampshire South Downs, Kilmeston Manor is an impressive and imposing structure. The historic listed building has recently been subjected to a complete refurbishment, including extensive masonry repairs to reinforce cracked brickwork.

Kilmeston Manor is set in 20 acres of land some nine miles south-east of Winchester. The manor is one of the oldest in Hampshire, first mentioned in a grant of land by King Edgar in 961. The oldest part of the present manor house is an Elizabethan hall; the main block is classic 18th century part Queen Anne, part Georgian. The north wing was remodelled in the 19th century to accommodate a brief stay by George IV.

In 1902 the manor was acquired by Charles Gilbert Heathcote, a barrister, painter and accomplished tennis player. As a founder of the All-England Club and a player in the very first Wimbledon Championship in 1877, Heathcote was also a member of the committee which created the official rules of tennis. Four generations of the Heathcote family made the property their home until it was recently put up for sale for £5.5 million, despite being in need of extensive repair and renovation.

Surveys revealed several building defects including poor bonding, foundation issues and some serious cracking to several brick walls in one wing of the property. Some brick walls were found to be beyond repair and had to be rebuilt. Fortunately the amount of rebuilding was limited due to the Structural Engineers design to install retrofit masonry reinforcement to salvageable walls.

The engineer specified retrofit reinforcing bars having a tensile strength of at least 12.5kN, to strengthen walls that could be repaired. The Twistfix 8mm diameter helical bars fitted the bill and a selection of masonry reinforcement products, including heavy-duty crack stitching bars and brick pinning ties, were supplied in comprehensive masonry repair kits.

“Twistfix were most helpful” said Site Agent Karl Ivans. “They provided sound technical advice and good support documentation.  We initially used more than 200 metres of the retrofit reinforcement and it saved us saved thousands of pounds worth of rebuilding.  When we discovered more cracked masonry Twistfix made sure that a pallet of bars and grout was delivered the next day to prevent delays.”

We are proud that our building renovation products have been used for repairing cracked brickwork on such a fascinating restoration project and look forward to receiving further case studies, which we will share with you in these news pages. Please check back regularly to keep up-to-date with the latest news, information, product updates and exclusive special offers from Twistfix. To receive this information directly to your email inbox, simply subscribe to our, feature-packed newsletter.

Our technical and customer service teams are always available to offer support, information and advice on all aspects of structural repairs, replacement wall ties, and masonry reinforcement systems. To speak to us directly, call 0845 123 6006 or email us at sales@twistfix.co.uk.