VISION 350 – FIRST STEPS ALONG AN EXCITING ROAD

During October 2020 the task of packing up the office was added to the many duties and responsibilities of those who work at Stationers’ Hall.  While technicians undertook specialist work in preparing an IT move to ‘the Cloud’ (successfully completed, although new ways are having to be learned!)  and various other trades were on site assessing the tasks ahead (including secure asbestos removal) the piles of boxes grew ever taller and it was a relief finally to have them move into the new premises. 

For the next 12-15 months the office will be based in what was formerly the CLC Bookshop

on Ave Maria Lane and some cosmetic work has been undertaken to allow for a slightly separate office for the Clerk and a meeting room.  The IT cabling will be undertaken shortly and it is hoped that, lockdown notwithstanding, the office will be ready for the staff to move in fully during the week of 16 November.  It will be a home away from home and happily not that far away!

Back at the Hall the kitchens have been dismantled and the equipment put into storage, some of which is provided by a shed in the garden.  The library space at the top of the Hall has been completely cleared, the retained books having been boxed and safely stored in the Clerk’s flat. The crush landing will be boarded up to form another storage area and every spare inch of space which is not going to be affected by the building works is being used to keep the contents and treasures of the Hall safe 

In the Livery Hall and in the Court Room, huge wooden cubes have been constructed, great

rooms within rooms, into which paintings, furniture and carpets (oh yes! the carpets have been lifted!)  will be placed for safe-keeping during construction work.  The Court Room chandelier has been built into a box which itself has been placed within the Court Room cube and so it is doubly protected.  The Benjamin West painting of King Alfred was found to be too big to leave the building, but it too is now safe within its own specially constructed protective box  inside one of the wooden cubes.

All this is hard and heavy work and as so often is the case when starting out on a project, the initial steps seem negative and somewhat destructive but the end result depends on getting these tedious unexciting tasks done well. 

We plan to keep you informed of progress, with photos, at least monthly, on this Vision 350 page so do please remember to click through to it and catch up with the changes