Technicus Consulting is proud to have provided specialist structural design and consultancy services for the sensitive repair of a historic Grade II listed 19th-century chapel located on Belsey Bridge Road in Ditchingham. The chapel forms part of the former All Hallows Convent complex of buildings originally designed by architect Henry Woodyer.
This project focused on the careful structural repair and restoration of the chapel’s traditional timber roof structure, where several structural elements had suffered from rot and a loss of strength due to long-term water ingress. The roof features a combination of duo-pitch and mono-pitch timber principal trusses supporting purlins and common rafters. The most significant damage was found at the eaves line, where failure of the parapet wall back-gutter lining had allowed rainwater to penetrate the structure over a long period.
Technicus Consulting is proud to have provided specialist structural design and consultancy services for the sensitive repair of a historic Grade II listed 19th-century chapel located on Belsey Bridge Road in Ditchingham. The chapel forms part of the former All Hallows Convent complex of buildings originally designed by architect Henry Woodyer.
Due to the building’s Listed status and architectural significance, wholesale replacement of the original roof trusses was not appropriate. Instead, Technicus Consulting developed and specified a sympathetic structural repair solution involving resin-fixed steel dowel bars and carefully crafted replacement timber sections. This approach enabled the selective removal and replacement of only the decayed sections of the timber trusses, preserving as much of the original fabric as possible.
A detailed structural analysis of the existing roof trusses was carried out to determine the worst-case forces generated in the timber truss members to be repaired. The findings informed the detailed design of the steel and resin repairs, including calculations for the minimum embedment lengths required for the resin-fixed steel dowels that securely connect the new and existing timber sections. This repair method not only retained the chapel’s historic character but also allowed for efficient on-site repairs without the need to strip or rebuild large portions of the roof.
This project exemplifies our commitment to delivering high-quality, cost-effective structural solutions for heritage and conservation buildings, combining modern engineering expertise with a deep respect for the preservation of historic structures.
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