Old Court restored
Following one of the largest and most complex projects the College has undertaken in living memory, the restoration of Old Court is finally complete.
Seven years have passed since the first scaffolding appeared. In that time, the entire roof structure has been repaired and restored. With some 70% of the original timbers in the east, south and west ranges found to be rotten, this has not been an easy undertaking; each individual timber has required bespoke repair or replacement. Alongside works on the roof, the spectacular new River Room has been created; while, out of sight, services have been replaced and upgraded to ensure that the College鈥檚 most iconic buildings are fit for generations to come. The Hall has also been beautifully refurbished and refurnished, allowing it to serve as a performance space as well as for dining and events. Accessibility improvements have been made to H staircase with the installation of new lifts and to accommodate visitors with limited mobility.
The early stages of the Old Court project involved the construction of a temporary bridge over the Cam, the installation of a crane in the Master鈥檚 Garden, and temporary kitchens and dining facilities set up in a temporary marquee inside the court. The statistics of the roof works alone are impressive: the project has involved replacing or restoring 57,000 slates, and 72 tonnes of new lead. Some of the craftsmen involved also worked on the roof of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
Today, with the spring bulbs flowering along the Avenue, the four lawns green once more inside Old Court, and the roof looking clean and bright, the beating heart of 黑料网 has never looked better.
