Rugby School Chapel
Styles Façade Solutions® (formerly Thomann-Hanry®) specialises in historic building facade surveying, and was appointed to carry out a comprehensive condition survey of a school chapel’s façade. The inspection identified key areas of concern to prevent accidents from falling masonry across the busy campus. Enhanced DBS checks were completed by all attending staff to meet the school’s safeguarding requirements before work began.
At over 42 metres high, scaffolding was impractical and drones couldn’t reliably capture intricate decorative detail. Instead, Mobile Elevating Work Platforms allowed our qualified team to inspect, photograph and record the structure closely.
The team made safe any loose masonry, cleared the site daily, and delivered a detailed, colour-coded report to the facilities team within weeks—keeping students and staff safe throughout.
Solutions provided
A WHOLE NEW BALL GAME FOR FAÇADE SURVEYING AT RUGBY
Founded in 1567 through the will of Lawrence Sheriff, who had made his fortune supplying groceries to Queen Elizabeth I, Rugby School has grown from a free grammar school into one of the UK’s leading independent schools with a global reputation for delivering educational excellence. The school is also the birthplace of Rugby football, where legend holds that William Webb Ellis first picked up the ball and ran with it, giving the world a new sport in 1823.
With a growing student population and the looming 300th Anniversary celebrations in 1867, a major campus-wide fundraising and redevelopment programme was launched. This saw the original, undersized chapel replaced with a much grander and impressive, William Butterfield-designed red brick and limestone-dressed building. The highly ornate High Victorian Gothic chapel was consecrated by the Bishop of Worcester in 1872. with final works completed in 1898.
The chapel’s interior features an elaborate painted ceiling, 16th-century-stained glass imported from Normandy and the Netherlands, and many memorials to famous alumni including poets Arthur Hugh Clough and Rupert Brooke, as well as world-famous author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (otherwise known as Lewis Carroll). In 1949, the chapel gained Grade I listed status.
Styles Façade Solutions® conducts a façade survey at the Grade I listed Rugby School Chapel in Rugby. A MEWP lifts a technician high up the polychrome brick tower to inspect stonework near the belfry, showcasing the chapel's ornate Gothic Revival detailing and patterned brickwork.
SAFEGUARDING CAMPUS HERITAGE AND STUDENT SAFETY
Positioned in a highly exposed location with almost 1000 staff and students walking about the campus, regular inspections are essential to assess the condition of the chapel’s façade to prevent any potential accidents caused by falling masonry.
Styles Façade Solutions® was appointed to conduct a comprehensive façade condition survey to highlight the key areas of concern across the surface of the building. As part of the site preparation, all staff who would be attending underwent enhanced DBS checks to comply with school safeguarding protocols.
At over 42 metres high (138 feet), it was not feasible to erect scaffolding, and while drones could be used, they would not be able to reliably assess damage to most of the intricate decoration. By deploying Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs), our qualified surveying team were able to get up close and inspect, photograph and record the façade’s structure in detail.
HANDS-ON DIAGNOSTICS WITH NO FOOTPRINT
The ability to get up close to even the highest point on the chapel, a key benefit of historic building facade surveying, allows our team to remove or make safe any items of loose or damaged masonry which could cause potential safety concerns to the significant foot traffic surrounding the site.
Our survey team set-up conducted the inspection and cleared the site at the end of each shift, ensuring the campus was safe, secure and hazard-free to staff and students. Following the on-site inspection, our qualified façade surveyor produced a detailed, illustrated, and colour-coded report which was presented to the school's facilities team within a few weeks.
“We are delighted to assist in preserving such an iconic historic asset. The detailed façade survey provides the facilities team at Rugby School with clear visual diagnostics, enabling them to prioritise repair works effectively within their ongoing planned maintenance schedule.”
Simon Collins, Business Development Manager, Styles Façade Solutions
See the links below for more examples of the results Styles Façade Solutions® (formerly Thomann-Hanry®) can deliver for your business.
Call our team TODAY on +44 (0) 20 8453 1494, alternatively use the contact us form for a FREE project quote or for more information on how Styles Façade Solutions® can help your commercial or heritage property.
Start a conversation
For commercial and heritage buildings only — tell us about your project and we will respond within one working day.