One of our team’s favourite projects – this ruin of a former gardeners Bothy at Turton Tower required stabilisation to make the area safe and usable.
Within the curtilage of Grade I Listed Turton Tower in Lancashire is a rare 2 storey gardeners bothy. Bothy means hut which was a basic shelter for the gardeners to use. The surrounding area is called the Kitchen Garden where volunteers claimed back the Victorian site. www.turtontower-kitchengarden.co.uk
Over time the bothy had fallen into disrepair, the internal walls collapsing due to the Oak lintels rotting. We were tasked with making the ruin safe for visitors to the garden and an area which could be utilised.
The main elements of the works were lime repointing, stone rebuilding, lintel installation and capping of the wall heads.
We concurred with the structural engineers report which produced the following schedule of works and involves temporary propping:
- Take down the section of stonework above the door to the front elevation where the rear half has collapsed and re-build to match the original thickness. Ensure the wall is toothed into the left-hand elevation wall.
- Prior to re-building the front elevation realign the stone surround to the existing door opening along with the stone lintel. Install additional stone lintel to support the inner thickness of stone to the wall. Lintel to match that currently supporting outer face.
- Take down and re-build any loose and dislodged stonework to the right-hand end of the front elevation wall.
- Replace the timber lintels to the inner half of the left-hand gable wall with new stone lintels to match the outer lintel.
- Take down and re-build any loose and dislodged stonework at high level to the right hand end of the rear elevation wall.
- Take down the unstable section of stone wall to the left of the first-floor window opening to the rear elevation wall. Reduce height down to the level of the cill to the window opening.
- Take down and re-build any loose and dislodged stonework to the left-hand end of the rear elevation wall.
- Ensure that the free ends of both the front and rear elevation walls are closed off using stone returns to protect against future weathering.
- Remove any vegetation growth from within the footprint of the building along with any vegetation growth to the internal faces of the stonework.
- Undertake a pointing exercise to both the internal and external faces of all remaining elevation walls using a lime mortar mix.
- Install lime mortar flaunching to top of all retained walls to full perimeter of the building to protect the walls against future weathering.
Vegetation upon the building or roots nearby can cause damage to the base with moisture issues.
Work is now underway to reclaim the area from weeds and create a wildlife and sensory garden. Donations to the ongoing project can be sent via this link:
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/turton-tower-bothy-and-garden
We would like to add special thanks in particular to Phil Broughton for his dedication to see the project come to fruition, and the support from Rebecca Johnson at Blackburn and Darwen Council.
