Images of the hall’s smart new thatched roof – good for at least 20 years.

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Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Devon (Mr David Fursdon) opened the Parish Hall after the first phase of the Conserve and Improve refurbishments.

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Thatched roofs need rethatching typically every 20-25 years when they are created using wheat straw which is authentic for the Devon area where reed straw is not readily available.

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[singlepic id=404 w=250 float=left]On Sunday 18th October 2015 some members of the Heritage project group investigated the parish hall floor now exposed after removing the wooden floor and joists . With only one day available before the builders started their work the group took on the role of keen amateur archaeologists to gather as much information as possible about the floor before it was sealed by a layer of concrete.

[singlepic id=405 w=250 float=right]The investigation team included:

• Steve Baber
• Martin Bond
• Miya Bond
• Liz Guppy
• Sandy Haughton

[singlepic id=403 w=250 float=left]The team initially made a general search of the floor looking for objects and studied the exposed areas of the walls to get a feel for their construction.

After collecting various loose objects the team swept dust and rubble from the southern end of the hall to expose what was thought to be the original floor.

They wrote up their finds on the Report on the Parish Hall Floor Investigation page.

 

Sub contractors ( Asbestos Management Services & Removals (AMS) of Barnstaple). working in protective suits to remove asbestos which was believed to be have been used under the sage.

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Returning on Tuesday 13 October and again on Thursday 15 October volunteers helped lift the hall sub-floor and store the bricks and joists for re-use where possible.

Many thanks to (from left): Bob Illman Paul Tanner Phillip Brown Alistair McArthur Steve Baber Brian Percival Ron Moore Jonny Harford

Not shown in photo: Richard Boxall Lindsay Harford Phillip Risden

For safety reasons access to the hall on Wednesday was not allowed during the removal of any potential asbestos material was undertaken by Asbestos Management Services & Removals (AMS) of Barnstaple.

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Joists have been stored on Phillip Brown’s farm, and the bircks on West Yeo farm, until they can be re-used.

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By Thursday afternoon the hall was cleared ready for the builders to start work the following Monday.

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Photographs of the work

More photos on our Picassa web site for Tuesday,  Wednesday (asbestos) and  Thursday.

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