Here’s where Cambrai Covers make their aircraft covers

St. Mary’s West elevation October 2006 – before restoration. At the left are the original outside toilet & the boiler house. The chimney stack was collapsing into the boiler house, & the disc covers a window that hasn’t seen daylight for 50 years

The old outbuildings were demolished & rebuilt as the new washrooms. The roofs were re-slated using locally re-claimed materials & the car park resurfaced with reclaimed aggregate & gravel to prevent runoff. Oh, & we can see through the round window

The chapel as it looked when we bought it – smashed windows, rotten frames, porch falling over…a sorry state indeed. The round stone near the apex states that the chapel was built by the Weslyan Methodists in 1874.

January 2009. Roof completely overhauled, stonework reset, porch rebuilt & the first two of the restored windows installed. The third & fourth windows can be seen sheeted over as the frames have been removed from the inside… see below

This is the condition of the window frames…& this is a good one! The sides have been replaced previously & are rotten again, & the sills are closer to compost than timber! Much of the glass has been smashed over the years the building has been out of use & the weather has taken it’s toll

This is a restored frame. Okay, the sides & sill are new (we used Iroko for the sills) but believe it or not the pointed top sections (which open) are all original – 134 years old & in perfect condition.

As it was in October 2006

The original Vestry. Well, actually the floor has already been replaced & the underfloor heating installed, along with the new 3-phase power supply

The Staff Room as it looks now. The electricity distribution equipment had been enclosed in the former bible cupboard, & the doors, window & wall cladding boards are all original.

The old fireplace with the collapsing chimney stack & the bible cupboard has now become

The doorway into the new washroom facilities

Things have come on in leaps & bounds! This photo – taken on 09/11/09 – shows the ground floor (looking west) as it now looks. The suspended ceiling was installed in about 2 days, & the lights in a further day. The floor has received its non-slip coating & under the green sheets resides our new CNC machine awaiting re-commissioning. This will be our main manufacturing area – 120 square metres / 1290 sq. ft.

The upper (mezzanine) level looking east. The floor is decked with the original circa 1895 planking from the ground floor. Although we were able to rescue very little of the original glazing, all the timber window frames are original from 1874, with new double glazing fitted to reflect the original design but with a more up-to-date twist that provides a staggering amount more daylight than before. This floor will house our customer contact & support team. It is from here that Vivienne & Michael (the owners) will manage Design & Quality Assurance.

118 sq metres / 1270 sq ft.

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