Oxburgh Hall was built in 1482 by the Bedingfelds family, who remain is residence to this day. Now owned by the National Trust, this remarkable building sits prominently surrounded by an idyllic moat in the heart of Norfolk.

In 2016 a dormer window collapsed onto the inner courtyard, prompting what would be one of the largest single projects the National Trust have ever undertaken. Following an immediate investigation, it exposed structual weakness to the roofline, resulting in a five year restoration project by Messenger BC, replacing the dormer windows, roof and dismantling and re-building the chimneys.

In order to carry out the work, a highly complex engineer designed scaffold was erected around the hall, not withstanding the added complication that the 500 year old building is surrounded by a moat.

Viewing Oxburgh Hall from the estate, the skyline is dominated by the spectacular ornate chimneys that stand tall on the roof. Each chimney was carefully removed by the contractor, logged, and the brick specials that could be  re-used were set aside, and those that couldn't, were scheduled for replacement.

Due to a supply issue midway through the contract, Lambs were approached by the main contractor in early 2021 to manufacture replacement chimney specials for twelve stacks. Under normal circumstances, a full survey would be carried out prior to the stacks being dismantled. Unfortunately, with the early complications on the contract, Lambs had to work with the original brick specials, the contractors detailed survey notes and templates of the base of the chimneys.   

Following an intial site meeting with the National Trust, Messenger BC and Purcell, it was agreed to return all the various brick specials to the brickworks where they could all be laid out and scheduled by our design team. During this lenghty process, each special was drawn by our CAD designer and issued for approval.

                                                              Original Chimney Shaft Specials

Once the drawings were approved, the drawings were passed to the mould makers to begin the manufacture of over sixty moulds for the project. Whilst some of the moulds were relatively easy, quite a few were extremely complex and large in size.

                                                                  New Brick Special Moulds

 Within a few weeks, the moulds were completed and the manufacture could commence. Each special was logged and placed next to the mould, ensuring that the correct shape matched each mould.

                                                                     Brick Specials Drying

 More to follow..........................