Best of Lime Ltd

of the Church at Abbey Lane reaches right back to theemergence of Non-Conformity and the Free Church tradition in Britain.John Bradford, one of the first protestant martyrs to suffer in QueenMary’s reign (he was burnt at the stake at Smithfield in 1555),preached in Saffron Walden a number of times. Doubtless his life andthe manner of his death had a great influence on the people of SaffronWalden, causing many to leave the Established Church. These earlydissenters remained faithful to their belief through many years and itwas largely their descendants who were responsible for the founding ofthe church at Abbey Lane. This is traditionally regarded as having beenfounded in 1665, making 2015 the 350th anniversary of the church.The Toleration Act of 1689 enabled nonconformiststo spring into action, withthe erection of a meeting house atAbbey Lane being completed in 1694.Key events in the subsequent history of the Church include:The opening of the current church building in 1811The election of five members of Abbey Lane Church as Town Councillors in 1835 after therepeal of the Test and Corporation Actwhich had barred non-conformists frompublic service. These included AldermanJohn Player J.P., the first mayor of theBorough after the passing of theMunicipal Corporation Act and theBorough’s first Justice of the PeaceThe construction of the schoolroom andclassrooms in 1861 to celebrate theJubilee of the Church buildingAt the beginning of the 20th century, Abbey Lane was a flourishingchurch, attended mostly by trades people of the town. The church hada large choir and a good Sunday School which met twice on Sunday aswell as attending the morning service. On special occasions such asHarvest Festivals extra chairs had to be placed in the aisles.Of late unfortunatly a leaking roof caused significant damage,eventually leading to the ceiling collapse with cornice and panelmoulding falling.A C PLASTERING pulled down the remaining loose ceiling &decorative mouldings, stabilised the existing. Then re-lathed andplastered with Limecote supplied by Best Of Lime.A new cornice and panel mould was run to replace the damagedareas.

11 High Baxter Street is within the Town Centre Conservation Area and is located in one of the streets which make up the Norman planned town set out on a grid system in the 12th Century. It is however a sole survivor, the rest of the street having been demolished in the 1960’s.The property has a core dating back to the 15th Century, with alterations in every century after. By the end of the 20th Century however, having survived 500 years, it was distinctly unloved, had become flats, then eventually a semi-derelict squat.In January 2019 the Bury St. Edmunds Town Trust (BTT) had come to its rescue, completing the pur- chase of the building and drawing up plans for the conservation and restorationA detailed condition report was carried out by local RIBA conservation architects Whitworth.Best of Lime’s Warmcote insulated lime plaster was specified as the base coat, with our Limecote tra- ditional chalk/lime plaster as the finish. Both products are non-hydraulic and designed to cope with the extreme background movement of an historic timber frame.

At Best of Lime, we develop and manufacture products that are appropriate and regularly used on some of the UK’s most important historic buildings.But..We are also absolutely determined to ensure that materials or systems supplied by us are done so in a ‘future proof’ way.Warmcote is a part of the answer to making our historic housing stock much more thermally efficient and low energy.

Red Mill was originally known as Reedham Ferry drainage mill which was built in the1840s with common sails to drive a single scoop wheel and was brought to wind witha tail pole. In the 1890’s the millwrights England, modernised the machinery andfitted double shuttered patent sails. The Norfolk boat shaped cap held a fantail.In the 1950’s the mill, then derelict was purchased and turned into a sunnyresidence.More recently the Mill was purchased by Laura and John, a youngcouple whose wish was to turn it into a unique, quirky home, set in astunning location.The mill was covered in an impervious, damaging, cement renderand painted red with a modern, non-breathable masonry paint. Theeffect of this was to trap high levels of moisture in the brickwork,making the interior damp and cold.The owners wanted to do the right thing for the building, so setabout the long, hard labour of love that was hand stripping it all backto the original red brick, internally and externally.Best of Lime were contacted by Laura and John to come up withsuitable products to reinstate the external lime render and internallime plaster.After visiting site, it was decided that externally, the mill neededRendercote, a robust lime render developed for high exposuremasonry. Internally, the dubbing out and base coat would beinsulated Warmcote, with a Limecote finish to give a visually softlook.Maltby Plastering Ltd , traditional lime plasterers were chosen tocarry out the project.Internally, Laura and John wanted to contrast the soft curves of theLimecote with a hint of the industrial origins of the mill, so checkerplate steel was used for sills and the staircases, to give a greatvisual effect.Externally, the Rendercote is trowel finished smooth, expertlyapplied by the Maltby Team on a difficult continuous curve.The finished work was decorated with the breathable, low carbonGraphenstone system.Overall a very satisfying project to be involved in, from a poorlyfunctioning, damp shell to a very smart, warm, dry comfortableand unique home in a beautiful location.

This is the perfect example of future proofing a traditional building, bringing it’s thermalperformance up to a modern standard, whilst conserving the historic timber frame and thevisual beauty of five centuries of gentle settlement and movement.