Shugborough Hall, Staffordshire

Recclesia was awarded the main contract for conservation and repair works at Grade I listed Shugborough Hall in Staffordshire. Now under the guardianship of the National Trust, the Hall is known as one of the few complete working historic estates.

Built in phases from 1693 onwards, the Hall has been extended several times, most notably in the 1740s. The estate remained in the same family until the 5th Earl of Lichfield, known professionally as photographer Patrick Lichfield, died in 2005. The National Trust took control of the estate in 1966, after which point it was leased to the local authority. In 2016 the estate was handed back to the Trust and a programme of investment in the conservation and development of the estate is planned over the coming decade.

The contract works saw much of the former service staff quarters sensitively turned into offices for the National Trust estate management team. As well as the repair of existing historic fabric, the work programme includes the sensitive reworking and installation of M&E, fire and security access systems, never an easy task in a building as historically significant as this.