Oxburgh Hall's £6m restoration project used 3D printers to recreate ancient chimney bricks

Oxburgh Hall Credit: National Trust

The National Trust's Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk is free of scaffolding for the first time in six years after a £6million project to restore its ancient roof.

The work has seen the replacement of 14,000 roof tiles specially adapted to stop bats slipping off.

The project also included work on 27 chimneys and 14 dormer windows around the 500-year-old building. 

The scaffolding had to be specially designed because the hall was surrounded by a moat which needed to be protected.

The roof was fitted with bat friendly tiles, to stop the mammals slipping off Credit: National Trust, Mike Hodgson

31 miles of scaffold tubing and 605 tons of sandbags were brought in to create a base that protected the fragile moat floor and fabric of the building.

Dave White, Project Manager, said: “Working on historic buildings can often throw up its challenges when you start to lift the lid on what lies beneath."

"Added to that, we were reaching a critical point with the roof off, just as the coronavirus pandemic first hit the headlines. So, it’s amazing to see how far we’ve come and the building now scaffold free."

Dave White added: "We gave some of these a special bat friendly coating of paint mixed with sand, to ensure Oxburgh’s nocturnal visitors can climb the tiles, around the openings of their new roost."

Oxburgh Hall, now that the scaffolding has been removed

A lot of work had to be done to replace highly ornate mock Tudor chimneys which had become unstable.

12,000 hand-made bricks, weighing in at 29 tonnes needed to be repaired or replaced to look like they had always been there.

Each chimney is slightly different in its design, one of which was so complex, the brick-makers had to turn to a 3D printer to create a special mould.

27 chimneys were repaired or replaced as part of the project Credit: National Trust Mike Hodgson

There have also been several discoveries made throughout the project like historic wallpaper in the attics and thousands of rare archaeological finds under the floorboards.

This included a rare 15th century illuminated manuscript found with fragments of late 16th century books and high status Elizabethan textiles found in two ancient rats’ nests.

The variety, age and significance of the items found and what they reveal make it a unique discovery and have helped shed more light on Oxburgh’s past. 

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know: