The National Trust first acquired the Old Courthouse in 1901. It is a partly half timbered 14th Century building of two storeys probably first used as a wool store. The memorial courts were held here from the the reign of Henry V.
McCurdy & Co. were asked by the National Trust to carry out two phases of Conservation work.
Much of the exposed timber framing had suffered severe erosion and the decision was taken to reface rather than replace the affected timbers. This method ensured that structural integrity was retained with minimum interference to the remaining fabric of the building and also helped to secure the mortice and tenon joints. To avoid differential shrinkage between the original and new pieces of timber two years before work was due to begin McCurdy roughed out the new braces from air dried French oak and stored these ready for future use.
Facing pieces were attached with stainless steel coach screws to ensure a tight joint and screw heads then concealed with timber plugs. The new timber was bonded to the old with epoxy adhesive.
