Historic chapel’s restoration is divine with Glendyne
Hampshire landmark Netley Chapel’s renovation was part-funded by donations from the local community - with Glendyne slates playing a crucial role.
Prior to the renovation of the roof, the Friends of the Royal Victoria Country Park, where the Chapel is situated, ran a campaign offering the opportunity to ‘sponsor a slate’. For a small donation, members of the public could write a message and sign the reverse of a slate which was then installed on the chapel’s roof. The campaign was a huge success, with more than 900 Glendyne slates sponsored, raising £6,600 for the project.
Netley Chapel dates from the Victorian era, when Royal Victoria Country Park was the home of the largest military hospital in the world, the Royal Victoria Hospital (also called Netley Hospital). After the rest of the hospital deteriorated following a severe fire in 1963, the chapel was the only part left intact. Grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Hampshire County Council enabled this historic building to be saved and restored so that future generations have a stunning reminder of the site’s fascinating story.
In summer 2018 the chapel reopened to the public. It now houses an exhibition enabling visitors to learn about the Royal Victoria Hospital, taking them through the whole of its history - from its founding in the 1850s to its part in the Boer War and both World Wars, its final decline and then the triumphant renewal of the chapel itself.
The refurbishment of the chapel roof was completed with 610mm x 305mm blue-grey Glendyne natural slates. Contractor David Stubbington, who worked on the restoration of the roof, commented “It’s been a privilege for us to have played such a pivotal role in this project and work with other local organisations to restore this iconic chapel.” David and his colleagues chose Glendyne “due to its flexibility to accommodate the roof design of the prestigious building. The end result is impressive and Glendyne really accentuates the character of the chapel.”
One of the first projects to use the new large 24" x 12" (imperial) format, the chapel roof was completed promptly and to a high standard.
Available now from Burton Roofing, Glendyne is the perfect choice for specifiers and roofers who require the beauty of natural slate alongside high quality and performance. Glendyne’s attractive blue-grey tiles originate from a state-of-the-art quarry operating a quality management system based on EN ISO 9001. This is externally audited, and the standard is strictly enforced. The quarry also fulfills all of the quality requirements of the regional markets that it supplies.
As it is tested to BS EN European standard, BS EN 12326-1:2014, Glendyne has to be subjected to many of the laboratory tests (type testing) at least annually, with factory production control (FPC) performed and recorded routinely by the producer.
To learn more about Glendyne natural roofing slate view our range here.
