What We Do - A little bit of TLC for your old buildings......

Throughout the country are numerous old buildings, some 300 to 400 years old or more. Our philosophy is to care for these old buildings by using tried and tested materials and craftsmanship to ensure they are handed down and enjoyed by those who come after us for many more years to come.

We are conservationists who's aim is to repair rather than replace in order to retain those subtle and fragile qualities associated with the fabric of old and historic buildings.

Whether you have a need to maintain an old building or you have taken on a major project, wether you need to repair an old lath and plaster ceiling or care for your stone or brickwork our true love for old buildings can help.

Andrew’s Building Conservation Ltd is a Chartered Building Surveying Company, that provides a comprehensive range of services to maintain and encourage sustainable usage of all buildings, specialising in historic and traditional buildings.

Andrew is a self-motivated Chartered Building Surveyor and Project Manager. Specialising and qualified in Historic Building’s Conservation, but also undertaking traditional Building Surveying roles.

Antony Gibb Historic Buildings Consultants help people understand, enjoy and use their architectural heritage. We work for public, private and professional clients, often as part of multi-disciplinary teams. We provide services covering heritage consultancy, building surveys, architecture, interior design and design review.

We specialise in historic and listed buildings and provide a range of services for private clients. We carry out building surveys, specify repairs and oversee work on site.

We work with Architects, providing planning and heritage advice for their schemes and prepare Heritage Impact Statements to accompany planning applications.

We design extensions and alterations to listed and historic structures. We always save and retrofit buildings where possible. We use low carbon materials in our designs, repair like-with-like, and use traditional and re-used materials in our designs.

The results are high quality, solid buildings that look right in historic contexts and which play their part in reducing carbon usage.

We’ve won some awards for our designs, most recently ‘Best Remodelling’ and ‘Best Refurbishment of an Historic Building’ at the Jersey Design Awards 2019.

Established over 140 years ago, Bakers of Danbury enjoy a reputation for providing high quality craftsmanship. We benefit from having a directly employed team of experienced carpenters, bricklayers, joiners, stonemasons and other tradesmen. The longest serving having worked up through an apprenticeship scheme with Bakers of Danbury has been with us over 35 years.

Our projects include new builds and refurbishment in the educational, commercial, housing and health sectors as well as repair, conservation and restoration of historic listed buildings, churches and ancient monuments. We also have a specialist insurance repairs division that works closely with leading insurance companies, specialist loss adjusters and engineers to repair structural faults in buildings.

We pride ourselves on attention to detail and the quality of the works carried out.

As a principal contractor we cover every aspect of the project; whether it be a new build or a restoration. Our projects often benefit from our in-house joinery and stone masonry workshops. Our joinery workshop offers a full design and manufacture service of bespoke joinery and furniture, woodcarving and architectural timber work, whilst our stone masons provide specialist stone cleaning and stone carving.

Bakers are widely known for their expertise on historic and listed properties; interestingly many of the methods used in conservation and restoration work remain very similar to those used over a century ago. Recent restoration and alteration projects include works to Westminster Abbey, The Charterhouse in London, Westminster Cathedral and St Pauls Cathedral amongst many other projects.

Why use BE coaching? Through questioning techniques, lateral thinking, guiding you to find out for yourself, coaching focuses on helping you discover answers and learn for yourself. This has an empowering impact on you, as such an approach leads to longer lasting results.

- 40+ Years Experience
- General and building surveying, planning and legal work
- Vast industry knowledge
- Experience on a wide range of property types and periods
- Targeted Training
- Coaching, Training, and/or Mentoring tailored to suit you

Castria provides an integrated architecture and engineering service through a truly collaborative design process and creative business culture. Our talented team of architects, engineers, surveyors and designers apply their technical expertise and imaginative problem solving skills to various sectors and projects.

For all projects, we aim to provide excellent service and value for our clients. We want to contribute to great place-making, reduce impact on the natural environment, and sustain the historic environment.

Catherine Woolfitt has worked in the conservation of the built heritage since 1993. She established Catherine Woolfitt Associates in 2008 after wide-ranging work experience in Italy, Israel and the UK, in both the museum and building conservation sectors. Catherine Woolfitt Associates provides technical advice and consultancy services in the conservation and repair of historic buildings, ancient monuments and sculpture

She was a director of Ingram Consultancy Ltd from 1999 to 2008 with the conservation architect Professor John Ashurst and building surveyor Graham Abrey. Prior to that she worked as historic building consultant for Hutton + Rostron Resurgam and at Bournemouth University with Professor John Ashurst.

Important past projects have included acting as heritage advisor in the redevelopment of the Barlow Train Shed at St Pancras Station and historic building assessments for Colchester and Aldershot Garrisons.

Catherine Woolfitt has taught practical for the Building Conservation Masterclasses at West Dean College and their predecessors at the English Heritage Building Conservation Training Centre at Fort Brockhurst since 1995. .

Chartered quantity surveyors and historic conservation cost consultants with extensive experience in the repair, alteration and conservation of historic buildings, monuments, and landscapes. We tailor our service to suit the specific requirements of individual clients, providing feasibility studies, option appraisals, cost plans, procurement advice, tender documentation and post contract cost control.

Having many years experience in building services engineering, project and financial management, we offer clients comprehensive multidisciplinary support and design service across the range of mechanical, electrical and ancillary building services engineering within the built environment, from design concept through to contract completion.

We provide acoustic design, analysis and problem-solving for building services, including; AV systems and speech reinforcement, environmental, building and industrial acoustics.

"Our design philosophy is one of integration, complementing the built environment, its aesthetics and other design goals by working in partnership with the client design team to create appropriate and holistic solutions"

This philosophy is supported in the design stage by timely and high-quality input which is then followed through by consultants walkabouts during installation.

Having early involvement during the design stage, we believe, is crucial to the success of any project, particularly with respect to energy use, and after completion, our own design post-mortems feed into a process of continuous improvement with the aim to increase customer satisfaction.


Our commitment to high service standards is the same for each project irrespective of size.

We work on Public Churches and Listed Buildings through extensive Conservation Works, at Glasgow, Edinburgh, Exmouth, Wales, London, Norfolk, Norwich, Blyth, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Sheffield, Southend-on-Sea, Bexhill-on-Sea, Broadstairs and numerous other Cities and Villages throughout the United Kingdom.

We strive to attain the high standard demanded with the scope of works from Decoration, Lime Wash, Building Restoration, Stone Masonry, Stone Cleaning, Brick Cleaning, Roofing, Guttering, Lead-work, Alterations, General Building Repairs, Lime Pointing and Lime Rendering.

Civic Voice works to make the places where everyone lives more attractive, enjoyable and distinctive. We speak up for civic societies and local communities across England. We promote civic pride. We are the national charity for the civic movement and have a strong local presence. We want to build stronger, more active, and more engaged communities through our work. We aspire to have a nation of active citizens.

Civic Voice believes everyone has the right to live somewhere they can be proud of. Our vision for 2020 is for a civic movement with a strong local presence and an influential national voice. We will be active on the national, city and local stage, working in partnership across the UK. Civic societies will perform at the level of the best today and the civic movement will reach more places and benefit more people from all walks of life. Our reputation and authority will make us the first port of call for anyone seeking to develop, conserve or interpret the quality, beauty and character of our towns, cities and villages or to engage people in shaping their future. We will be a source of civic pride and people will know us for our independence of thought, challenging perspective and positive outlook. We will listen, advise, support and act on behalf of communities everywhere. Communities everywhere will know they have a voice and a champion for the place where they live.

Civic Voice is a small light footed organisation. As a national voice with a strong local presence we make a difference where it matters. You will find us lobbying in Whitehall and Westminster, campaigning with local volunteers, speaking out in the media, undertaking research, building partnerships and promoting civic pride. We support local groups and help them work together. We organise a national convention for the civic movement and give local groups a national voice. We combine community action with sense of place for the benefit of everyone.

Alan Conisbee & Associates was founded September 1982 in the back bedroom of Alan Conisbee’s north London flat, offering elegant and practical engineering services. Two years later, Chris Boydell joined Alan as an enthusiastic young engineer and the practice begins to grow. Soon after, the first office opens on Compton Road, Highbury Corner with six engineers.

The practice grows quickly in the mid 80’s as London started to boom. The Almeida Theatre becomes Conisbee’s first arts, and now oldest client. Tim Attwood joins as a fresh faced, recently Chartered Engineer, in 1986 bringing with him some more modern design tools including the practice’s first computer.

The first partnership was created in 1988 with Alan and Chris, a short time later Tim joined the board and the office moves to our current home in Offord Street in 1989. The practice has grown to 20 members of staff.

The early 90’s recession see’s Conisbee building up clients within the arts and hospitality sectors. Conisbee expertise in conservation also evolves with repair and refurbishment of important mid 20th century buildings.

Bob Stagg joined the practice in 1998 to take on this work and it has continued to develop ever since.

During the mid to late 90’s Conisbee begin working on an increasing number and scale of inner city housing developments.

The practice incorporated in 2000 and Bob joined Alan, Chris and Tim as a Director. The early 2000’s was a period of steady growth in 2004 Tom Beaven became a Director in 2004 and took over leading the marketing responsibilities.

The company’s energy efficiency ambitions began to formulate in 2002 when they helped establish the specialist low-carbon engineering consultancy XCo2. Since then Conisbee have continued to promote the reduction of a building’s carbon usage through choices of construction material and design including the potential uses of MMC and efficiencies of offsite construction. In 2007 Conisbee joined the Islington Sustainability Partnership back when it launched, and has continued to focus on carbon reduction and net Zero targets as a practice and across the construction industry.

Conisbee heavily promoted MMC and the practice worked with several manufactures on numerous housing and education projects. The practice won its first international project in 2007, and this becomes their first year at MIPIM. This

By 2008 the practice had 90 staff.

Conisbee opened its Norwich office in 2012 and following the success of this the Cambridge office was opened in 2014. This allowed the Civil Engineering team to grow steadily with an increasing scale and diversity of projects around housing or redevelopment sites in London and East Anglia.

As Conisbee approached the mid decade, with three of the original directors in their 60’s, a long term succession plan was implemented. In 2015 Allan Dunsmore, Paul Hartfree and Richard Dobson became Directors. Alan Conisbee stepped down in 2016 with Tim Attwood taking over as MD. Alan retired in 2017 followed by Chris Boydell in 2018 and Bob Stagg in 2020. Ben Heath became a Director in 2019 and Kevin Clark in 2021.

The Conisbee Heritage team has also seen significant growth and now work on some very well-known public buildings with Conservation Accredited Engineers (CARE) specialising in the inspection, appraisal, repair and adaptation of historic structures and sites of all types throughout the United Kingdom.

Arts work, particularly in theatres has also grown steadily and we now work for all the main London theatre owners.

However housing work continues to be the bedrock of the practice workload and has developed to suit the demands of the market. From mid rise inner-city densification, to towers, green field development sites, student housing, subterranean development and now rooftop extensions. The last few years have been tricky to navigate with the referendum, Brexit and now the pandemic knocking confidence at different times and triggering many other changes to both the industry and the wider world of work. When the pandemic began the practice acted quickly and decisively to adapt to the changed circumstances, so now in the summer 2021 is in a strong position with an increasing order book and effective systems to tackle whatever the future holds for us.

From St Govan’s Chapel in south Pembrokeshire to Howsham Hall in north Yorkshire, via elegant Dublin town houses and impressive college chapels, from heavy construction to fine interiors; since the new millennium cbs have delivered works of outstanding quality, building a reputation that we now believe is second to none.

At Cbs we’ve deliberately maintained a small company profile with company directors regularly in attendance on projects, and often running our sites; that means our considerable expertise and experience is precisely where its needed most, on site; keeping it small allows us to provide our clients with a level of personal attention rarely found in larger organisations; and time and again, we deliver exceptional quality, value for money and a level of service that often significantly exceeds that of our clients expectations.

Regardless of size or status, If you have a building conservation project and you think we can assist, we’d be delighted to hear from yo

DBR is a specialist conservation company dealing with the cleaning and repair of historic fabric and the regeneration of historic buildings.

High-quality workmanship, expertise and a dedicated and sensitive approach to the care of buildings are the foundation of our thriving business. Well known for our exemplary in-house craft trades, we are one of the leading conservation specialists in London and the South East of England, working on some of the UK’s most notable landmarks, including Grade listed buildings, scheduled monuments and World Heritage Sites, as well as parochial churches, country estates and modest memorials. Every project we undertake is treated with passion and enthusiasm that is unrivalled in our industry, leaving a lasting impression on our clients and the buildings we care for.

DBR London was established in 1990, to form a highly specialist façade conservation company to tackle the problems of masonry decay in London.

The early years of the business as a specialist masonry contractor quickly gained momentum with a reputation for quality. This resulted in larger projects being awarded, and DBR London evolving into a Principal Contractor, taking charge of entire conservation projects.

In 2008 as the company grew, it became apparent that DBR’s delivery to our clients required an ‘in house ‘roofing division to compliment our ‘in house’ masonry façade specialism, thus providing a complete external envelope repair service. DBR Leadwork was formed to satisfy this need and soon became successful in its own right as a Principal Contractor for roofing projects as well as a partner to DBR London.

In 2011 DBR Conservation was formed in response to a growing requirement for DBR to undertake entire conservation projects both externally and internally. This enabled us to embody the skills of gilders and conservators for work to historic polychrome surfaces and fine objects.

More recently DBRs progression has seen the forming of DBR Southern, which harks back to DBR London’s roots as a specialist masonry contractor.

DBR is also expanding its joinery service to historic buildings along with fire safety improvements in historic building environments following on from our multi million pound fire safety improvement scheme at the Palace of Westminster.

Additionally we have recently launched our Drone Division flying state of the art UAV’s by CAA approved ‘in house’ masonry specialists.

DBR is also expanding its UK operations and our major projects division with landmark conservation projects including the recent award of the multi million pound external conservation of Liberty London.

The whole DBR group continues to recruit specialist crafts to strengthen and expand our skill base along with dedicated and passionate managers whose mission is to provide an exemplary service in the field of historic building conservation, repair and regeneration.

There will be many more chapters in DBRs journey that will ensure our clients will receive a comprehensive service for their historic buildings, and which will continue to provide a ‘go to’ business that ensures quality and care in a skillful and dynamic manner.

‘Making sure the past has a future’

Dædalus Conservation is a specialist contractor with extensive experience working with Britain's built heritage. We are a small team based in rural Dorset, working on projects across the UK. Our purpose is to preserve and protect ancient buildings, through the use of traditional trades. Every building has a story; we combine our present knowledge with the utmost sensitivity and historic context, to maintain original beauty and character.

Dædalus provides a comprehensive range of specialist services in historic building repair and conservation as either a principal or specialist contractor, including;

- Masonry
- Carpentry & Joinery
- Plasterwork, Plain & Decorative
- Brickwork & Terracotta
- Fine Conservation
- Decoration
- Roofing & Leadwork
- Surveys, Consultancy and Advice


The company’s name Dædalus is, in Greek mythology, the skilled craftsman and artisan; also credited for building the Labyrinth, which has inspired the logo.

David joined English Heritage in 1979 working on buildings and Ancient Monuments in Lincolnshire and North Yorkshire. Work included conservation of stonework, brickwork, lime plastering, lime washing, repointing and supervising such works. Sites included Rievaulx Abbey, Helmsley Castle, Pickering Castle, Scarborough Castle and Thornton Abbey and St Peter’s Church both in Lincolnshire.
Curriculum Vitae David Sleight

In 1990 David moved to London working for English Heritage’s Architectural Conservation team and at their Conservation Skills Centre in Gosport. His main role there was training EH employees, Conservation Officers, Architects and home owners in “hands on” skills for repairing traditional buildings. Additionally he gave advice to Regional English Heritage Officers (Architects and Inspectors) on problems with repairing and conserving buildings. He was also involved with training people in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

In 1997 David joined British Waterways as a Heritage Officer training BW staff, Conservation Officers, contractors and home owners in the theoretical and practical skills and knowledge required to look after Listed Buildings. He lectured at the UCE and at the Limes Forum Annual Conference.

In 2004 David became a self employed conservation contractor and consultant. He has worked on various local projects working on cob, brick, plaster and stone.

In 2005 David became a full member of the IHBC (The Institute of Historic Building Conservation)
Additionally, Sleight Conservation has been involved in the following larger projects:

- Mortar and stone repairs to the Corinthian Arch at Stowe School, Buckinghamshire for the National Trust.
- Sympathetic stone repairs to the regeneration of a public building in Long Eaton.
- Internal plastering and external lime rendering in Northamptonshire, Leics, Derbyshire.
- Lime repointing to two large domestic houses in Northamptonshire.
- Training contractors on the application and benefits of lime based mortars.
- Plaster consolidation within the Assembly Rooms Leicester.
- Repointing and stone repairs to Little Linford Church Bucks, (with Acanthus Clews).
- Repairs to the mediaeval cross of the Church of St James at Somerton in Oxfordshire.

Earthouse specialises in traditional building methods and techniques. We undertake cob, stone and timber structural repairs, lime rendering and plaster conservation, repair and replacement. We are a specialist building contractor, working on multiple and varied conservation and restoration projects.

Earthouse was established in 2002 and we have been growing our skill set ever since. We are based in East Devon and cover the surrounding area as well as having the ability to work nationally. Our small experienced team is passionate about the preservation of the architectural heritage of our historic buildings and vernacular building techniques.

We work hard to conserve both residential and public buildings; replacing materials for like and using traditional methods where possible.
Earthouse cob repair and lime render…

We offer a range of traditional and contemporary skills including:

- Cob repair
- Cob construction
- Lime rendering – various techniques and finishes
- Lime plastering
- Lime mortar pointing
- Stone stabilising and reinforcement
- Stone cleaning and pointing
- Underpinning
- Decorative plasterwork conservation
- Tadelakt plastering
- Venetian plastering
- Clay plastering
- Hydraulic lime crete floors
- Floor coverings
- Structural timber frame repairs
- Timber window repairs
- Breathable decoration and coatings

Evans Conservation is a Kent based company specialising in the conservation of historic buildings. We use traditional skills and materials to conserve our cultural heritage.

Conserving and carrying out repairs to historic buildings requires an in-depth understanding of how the building was originally constructed and an ability to identify and understand the changes which have been made over time. Applying our broad experience and deep expertise to your home we discover and reveal the unique story of your building through time. Our detailed knowledge of traditional methods and materials enables us to specify works and carry out repairs which continue and support the long history of your building and make sure that your chapter in their story is a great one!

​Sympathetic Repair – by understanding how your building was originally constructed and of course any subsequent historical repairs we can make sure that the appropriate materials are used and used correctly.

​Environmental Controls – the vast majority of ‘problems’ in historic buildings are caused by poor workmanship or use of inappropriate materials which result from a lack of understanding. These problems are easily remedied by understanding how traditional buildings were designed so that the building fabric can be preserved without resorting to chemical treatments.

Continued Support – Our passion for what we do goes beyond just ‘finishing the job’; we take responsibility for the future well-being of your building and our heritage. We aim to leave you confident and comfortable with a deepened understanding of your historic building yet at the same time offer ongoing support, consultancy and maintenance schedules.

​‘Much more than just bricks and mortar…
it's a story waiting to be told…’

​Part of the thrill of owning an historic building is gradually learning about and discovering the unique story of your home. Bringing our experience, expertise and enthusiasm to the process of joining and assisting you in digging deeper into the uniqueness of your home and its place in our history.

From discovering the more obvious historical features such as structural alterations and historic additions right down to the smaller details of carpenter’s marks, re-used timbers and traditional tool marks every building is full of clues telling it’s own individual story.

We are an independent professional consultancy service delivering cost effective services tailored to the needs of those involved with listed or unlisted pre-1945 buildings, structures or landscapes ranging from Iron Age forts to Art Deco flats.

- We work all over the UK and Europe, but we are as near to you as your telephone or computer
- Any form of building or structure including domestic, industrial, commercial, religious, theatrical, castles, estates etc.
- Helping everyone from the general public, tradesmen and investors, through to professionals, conservation groups, etc.
- You get a full and thorough professional service that is the most appropriate to your historic site
- Any aspect to do with buying / repairing / converting / extending / renovating / maintaining / working with, or just living in an old building or historic landscape
- You have access to your own technical specialists with years of experience in dealing with historic buildings
- You get independent and unbiased help and advice – we are not a government, lobbying organisation or trade body
- We are not selling a particular method or product irrespective of whether it is appropriate to your site or not
- We help you overcome your historic building problems because we understand the difficulties and headaches encountered when working with or owning old properties
- Supplying simple practical solutions to your problems
- It is a service regulated by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors