Heritage Project Contracts

'Adrift' by John Cassidy

'Adrift' is a bronze statue by John Cassidy, made in 1907 and first exhibited at the New Gallery in London. It depicts a family clinging to a life raft in a stormy sea. The central figure is a half-naked man holding a sheet up with his right hand, calling for help. His family is arranged around him at the base. It was purchased by James Gresham, a wealthy local engineer who offered it as a gift to Manchester City Council. It was originally to go in a new municipal art gallery in Piccadilly that was never built. The statue ended up on the same site in a sunken garden created after World War I, remaining here for many years. It was moved in 1953, being replaced in the gardens with a fountain to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth. The statue went to the South side of the gardens. In 2002 it went into storage for a while before going back on public display in St Peter's Square in March 2009.
With the works completed on the Manchester Library buildings, HPC Ltd returned the statue to its plinth in the centre of Manchester at the beginning of 2015.	In 2011, the 'Adrift' statue was taken into storage again to allow for the refurbishment of the Manchester Town Hall Extension and City Library. Heritage Project Contracts was employed to carefully remove the statue, pack it and transfer it to their workshop for safe storage. In 2014 it was unpacked at the workshop and given a gentle clean before application of a coat of protective wax.
	Works completed - January 2015 Main contractor - Laing O'Rourke

Manchester Central Convention Complex


The Manchester Central Convention Complex was originally the Manchester Central railway station, being converted to its present use in 1982, when it was known as the G-MEX Centre. The building was originally designed by Sir John Fowler as the northern terminus for rail services from St Pancras, London, opening in 1880. It was listed as a Grade II* building in 1963. The building has one of the largest unsupported, single-span wrought iron arches in Britain spanning 64 metres.
Heritage Project Contracts was invited to carry out trial cleaning works to the wrought iron lattice pieces at the front and rear of the building. The existing paint finish was beginning to fail and an efficient technique was required to successfully remove the loose paint layers back to a sound surface.	Heritage Project Contracts trialled several techniques including local blasting and using power tools with abrasive pads fitted, to strip off the loose paints leaving the ironwork ready for re-finishing with a suitable paint system.
	Works completed - July 2013 Main contractor - G-MEX Team

Egyptian Room, Oldham Town Hall

Heritage Project Contracts was appointed by Morgan Sindall to carry out trial works including the cleaning of the surviving tiles, development of a suitable repair technique for damaged tiles and to source new replica tiles to replace those that were badly damaged and missing.

A number of specialist resins were trialled in order to identify the most suitable for repairing the damaged tiles on site. These included commercial repair systems.

The centre of Oldham is currently undergoing a programme of refurbishment and redevelopment. As part of these works the Town Hall buildings are being part renovated and their use changed to a multiplex cinema, coffee shops and restaurants. The Egyptian Room forms the last phase of development of the original buildings, being built in 1917. The interior of this room is decorated with glazed tiles giving an 'Egyptian' look to the room, originally being used as the Council Rates office.

Heritage Project Contracts worked with Craven Dunhill Jackfield Ltd, specialists in hand made tiles, to produce sample copies of a number of different original tile types. The samples were then presented to the local Conservation Officer for final approval.

Works completed - February 2015
Main contractor - Morgan Sindall