Director Sam Field MRICS is formally appointed as Surveyor to the Worshipful Company of Coopers.

This particular Livery Company was created to regulate professionals in the cask-making industry, and the earliest found mention of it is contained in the record of the Mayor's Court held on the 22nd May, 1298.  Sam sits on the Hall Committee, and during his long-standing relationship with this client, he has managed numerous renovation and redecoration projects at the late 17^th century Coopers’ Hall in the City of London for over 20 years.

Coopers’ Hall is a pre-Georgian late 17th century, timber-framed merchant's house with a Georgian frontage. A Livery Hall since 1957, it features a fine Courtoom, dining room and an impressive staircase spiralling up the entire height of the building. It is one of the oldest and most elegant of the Livery Halls and is conveniently situated in the heart of the City of London opposite Liverpool Street Station.

It is available for hire for private and corporate functions, and thus the hall, plus access to it and all related facilities, have to be maintained in top condition of renovation and redecoration, and meet health and safety requirements.

External work

The external renovation and redecoration programme to the building’s front elevation included the following.

Replacement of the parapet gutter which had been leaking into the top floor. It was replaced with a lead sheet gutter which was dressed up the face of the parapet wall and terminated under the coping stones to form a waterproof barrier.

Helifix bar repairs to cracks in the wall. These repairs were blended in so that they are not visible until pointed out. This proved particularly hard to achieve as the brickwork was not cleaned.

Removal of over 35 layers of paint using a poultice applied to the metal railings which revealed their original simple design.

The concrete slurry was removed from the steps and railing upstand to reveal the original Portland stone. This had been applied in the 1960s as a temporary measure prior to more substantial repair work and had been left there for over 50 years!

The Coat of Arms

Perhaps the most prominent element of our recent work at Coopers’ Hall was the repair and redecoration of the Coat of Arms, which is located above the entrance door and welcomes all visitors.

The Coopers’ Company was granted its coat of arms in 1509. It consists of three Tudor lilies and in the field three annulets with chevron bearing tools. The supportive are camels with annulets and the crest is a heath-cock carrying a lily in its beak. After the Reformation, later in the 1500’s, the motto “Gaude Maria Virgo” (Rejoice, Virgin Mary) was replaced by “Love as Brethren.”