REFURB CASE STUDIES Caldey Island Monastery [Winner - 2002 CRTC Clay Roofing Awards - Best Refurbishment Clay Roof – Commercial Category] Designer (and recipient of Award): Acanthus Holden Architects Clay Roof Tile Manufacturer: Sandtoft Roof Tiles Limited Clay Tiles Used: Flemish and Humber clay roof tiles in the Flanders Red colour

Three miles across the calm waters of Caldey Sound, off Tenby in Pembrokeshire, lies the beautiful Monastery Island of Caldey, which has been home to a community of monks for some 1,500 years. For centuries the Island has been a religious sanctuary for these monks and the present day Monastery, built at the beginning of the last century, has become an historical landmark.

However, constant exposure to the elements over the course of time has seen the Monastery’s roof showing signs of deterioration, prompting the Pembrokeshire County Council’s Environmental Department to list the building as ‘unfit’. The state of deterioration affected the roofs of the Post Office and the cottages, which were all letting in water.

To preserve the heritage of the Monastery, the Pembrokeshire Council agreed to fund the roofing restoration programme for the Post Office and cottages. However, the Monastery also decided to ensure the preservation of the entire structure and secured a National Lottery grant to re-roof the main Monastery building.

Acanthus Holding Architects was commissioned to repair and restore the Monastery. The project team decided to use Sandtoft Roof Tiles Flemish and Humber clay roof tiles in the Flanders Red colour for the refurbishment. These tiles complemented the complex design of the building and created a very picturesque restoration.

For some parts of the roofing, the contractor had to work from old photographs to re-create original features which had long ago ‘disappeared’ as a result of earlier patchwork repairs.

The project faced several challenges. As if the challenge of re-roofing listed buildings in an exposed area, on top of a hill, was not enough, the roofing contractors had to transport almost 40 tonnes of building materials across the sea to the Island in military-styled amphibious vehicles. On top of this, boats used to bring in the contractors couldn’t run when the weather was bad, and on many occasions they were unable to work to schedule as they had to vacate the Island early to avoid adverse weather conditions.

However, these obstacles were overcome by a dedicated project team that was committed to restoring the entire Monastery’s roof to its original condition. The Caldey Island Monastery was finally restored to its former glory through sound project management and logistical execution and the application of carefully selected tiles that matched the existing tiles creating an original and successful refurbishment programme.

The tiles used in the refurbishment were representative of the considerable design expertise available within the UK clay roofing tile industry using CAD and digital mapping techniques to reproduce unusual and historic roofing products long out of production.

The workmanship on the project was described by the CRTC’s Roofing Awards judging panel as “excellent” and the aesthetic appeal of the roof created an exceptional refurbishment.