What started as routine conservation at Little St Mary’s in Bramber, Sussex, quickly grew into a deep restoration after heritage research and on-site investigation revealed centuries of changes, structural failures, and long-running moisture issues.
Heritage specialists date the earliest surviving fabric to the late 15th or early 16th century. The building is believed to have begun life as a detached medieval kitchen before later becoming a dwelling. Years of neglect, paired with modern repairs that did not suit the original construction, left the structure vulnerable, including roof spread, decayed oak timbers, unstable flint walls, and trapped moisture.
The restoration was led by Green Heritage & Conservation Specialists, working under specialist heritage carpenter Parviz Shahnaazi. The team coordinated with conservation architects, structural engineers, and local authority conservation officers, with a simple goal: keep as much original historic fabric as possible, and replace only what was beyond repair.
For mason contractors and restoration crews, the masonry takeaway is clear. Traditional flint masonry and hot-mixed lime mortars were paired with breathable lime plasters, limecrete flooring, woodfibre insulation, and careful repair and reuse of original handmade clay roof tiles. Those material choices supported the building’s need to dry out and manage moisture, rather than trapping it inside the walls.
Projects like this also highlight a growing reality in the built environment. Traditional building skills are scarce, and heritage work demands crews that understand historic materials, movement, and sequencing. On restoration scopes, it pays to document existing conditions layer by layer, plan for discoveries, and keep close communication with the engineer, architect, and conservation officer as details evolve in the field.
Read the full, original article from SussexWorld here.