Over the past couple of weeks our sister company, Target Structural, has been releasing images of an old monastery that it recently repaired. There was but a single clue: it was an English Heritage property.We can now reveal the answer: Furness Abbey, a Cistercian monastery dating back nearly 900 years to 1123 located near Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria.
The remains of the abbey are now in the caring hands of English Heritage, who have been carrying out emergency conservation work to stop it sinking into the ground.We have also been involved in this repair work for a number of years, having previously designed trials for Heli Pile for some of the foundation repairs after the 500-year-old timber foundations were finally giving way.
More recently, Target Structural has been repairing two of the monastery's vousoirs (arches), pinning them back into the masonry above using 1.2 metre long Cem Flex ties.This highly technical operation involved drilling straight up using some exceptionally long drills into the vousoir stones and inserting the stainless steel Cem Flex. The work was then finished using Bond Flex cementitious grout to provide a hidden fixing.
The work was completed within two days.
Despite the ongoing repairs, Furness Abbey is still open to the public and it is possible to walk around and through the monastery. At less than £5 entry, it is certainly worth going to see one of England's oldest buildings.
Sadly, you won't get to appreciate the view from the top of the scaffold!