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We are working with Gracehill Old School Trust on the conservation and restoration of the former shop in Montgomery Street, Gracehill. The building dates from the 18th century and the discovery of this slate on the roof, which records that Henry Kerr re-slated the house in 1835,  gives us an invaluable connection with those who worked on the building before us. The Trust is aiming for a combination of 18th Century style with 21st century comfort, centred on the conservation of the original shop interior and commercial use of the domestic accommodation at lower basement level. Phase One of the … Read more Restoration of Old Shop in Gracehill →

Frizzell’s Cottage, Ardress, lay uninhabited for approximately 30 years, to all intents an apparently unremarkable pebbledash cottage, with corrugated iron roof covering .  However, concealed underneath this bland exterior is a rare mud-walled construction and original thatched roof.  Frizzell’s Cottage has now benefitted from a significant £334,000, 18 month restoration project funded by a legacy gift to the National Trust.  This successful restoration has been achieved by working in conjunction with McCollum Conservation, Historic Building Consultants and Chartered Building Surveyors and with the builder, Robert Weir, to bring the hidden gem back to life using traditional techniques and materials, with … Read more Restoration of 280 year old Co Armagh cottage →

This photo shows a section of the Parthenon on the Athens Acropolis and the Doric Order of the structure is clear with its distinctive Frieze sitting above the column capital.  However, this order exists in both the Greek and Roman forms so which type is it?  It might be obvious in this case, given the location of the structure, but both forms are quite different when the detail is considered. Whilst we are not about to enter the debate about the multitude of differences here, two to remember are that the Greek form never has a base and the Triglyphs … Read more Roman or Greek? →

St Mark’s, Dundela recently received a grant of £5,000 from the National Churches Trust to assist in completing internal repairs and keeping the building dry. Chris McCollum Conservation is pleased to be involved in the repairs to this landmark church in East Belfast, which recently celebrated 140 years since its consecration and has strong connections to CS Lewis. The 150 foot high tower of St Mark’s is visible across Belfast and there are regular church tours for visitors interested in CS Lewis, who spent his childhood in East Belfast. The author was baptised in the church and visited his grandfather … Read more St Mark’s, Dundela – Connection to CS Lewis →

Over the last twenty or so years it has become common knowledge in the construction industry that when repairing historic buildings, it is generally best to specify and use building limes rather than cements. As a result, a variety of lime mortars for building, repairing or plastering now appear on every building conservation project. However, despite this “lime revival” there remains much to understand if the material is to be adequately specified and used properly on site to ensure that the expected results materialise (and failures are avoided). One of the most critical issues to understand is that specifying lime … Read more Hydraulic Building Limes Today →

The Practice is currently involved in providing expert conservation guidance in repair to a Grade B+ listed church, located within the town centre of Holywood. The Church was consecrated in 1844 and is an important example of the work of Charles Lanyon. We are providing a specialist Architectural service from inception to completion. As part of the work we are replacing a unique Spire counterweight which provides structural stability.