Lingholm Estate, Cumbria

Insulead® · Steelyte® opening casements · Encapsulated leaded lights

The Building

Lingholm estate is a grade II historic building which was built in the 1870s by Alfred Waterhouse, one of the Victorian eras most renowned and prolific architects who famously built the Natural History Museum in London and Manchester town hall.

Between 1885 and 1907 the author and illustrator Beatrix Potter spent nine summers at Lingholm. The Lingholm Estate was the inspiration for many of her books including The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin and Tale of Peter Rabbit. Mrs Tiggywinkle and Benjamin Bunny were also inspired and illustrated during her time spent there.

The Brief

Although a beautiful building Lingholm Estate lacked thermal efficiency due to the single glazed windows which were currently installed. Lingholm estate wanted to ensure that it retained its character and beauty by replacing the windows like for like but with the use of a double glazed unit. The original leaded lights needed to be carefully taken out and restored back to there former glory. These were to be retained and repaired using our sister company Design Glass. By keeping the original leaded lights, and applied square leading, Lingholm Estate was to look identical as before but with the increased performance of thermal and acoustic properties.

The Solution

It was decided that our fixed double glazed Insulead units were perfect to use between the existing stone mullions. This is due to units offering the slimmest of sightlines similar to the single glazed units that were taken out. Square leading was then applied to the plain double glazed units which created an identical match to the existing windows. After the existing leaded lights were repaired and restored, we were able to encapsulate them into our double glazed units offering the leaded lights future protection. To replace the existing damaged opening windows, it was decided that our stainless steel Steelyte opening casements were to be used. By having them powder coated in black, it made them almost identical to the existing ones. Furthermore, due to them being made from high-grade stainless steel it ensured that they would remain intact for the foreseeable future. The overall solution meant that the grade II listed building overcame the problems associated with single glazed windows but kept their identity and image while vastly improving their thermal performance.

The Response

The project of Lingholm Estate was an outstanding success. By working with our sister company Design Glass, it allowed us to demonstrate how we can preserve and protect the history of the building but improve its capabilities. It was proud to be apart of such a historic building with a great amount of history behind it.

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