£1million restoration underway at Castle House (From Somerset County Gazette)
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£1million restoration underway at Castle House
11:10am Tuesday 5th March 2013 in News
Chris Berry works on exterior stonework.
GOATS’ hair and local soil are among the materials being used to restore 15th Century Castle House.
The building, previously on English Heritage’s at risk register, is being restored to look much as it did hundreds of years ago by the Somerset Building Preservation Trust.
The year-long £1million project, funded through several grants, is using methods used by the original builders.
The lime mortar for the outer walls is mixed with red soil from Hestercombe to replicate the original colour, while a lime plaster containing goats’ hair, to give it strength and flexibility, is being spread over thin wooden lathes on interior walls and ceilings.
The work on Castle House, owned by the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society, is due for completion this summer.
The ground floor will be a Discovery Centre, telling the story of Castle House and aspects of Taunton’s history.
