When the Hampton Court Beauties exhibition ended in December, Harry Brimmel, maintenance manager at Hampton Court Palace, saw a rare window of opportunity to undertake some much needed re-wiring in the Queens State Apartments.
On the surface, this rewiring job was simple: replace the old filament lights with LED’s, redundant wiring with new, and fit new light switches and electrical face plates. However, it took four months to complete, while usually a job such as this would take half that time.
“You simply cannot drill through walls here,” Brimmel explained. The historical significance of Hampton Court Palace meant the refurbishment had to be completed with minimal to no impact on the interior. If there were any changes to the external face, then these had to match the rest of the interior and go unnoticed.
Part of the characteristic of this job was to work around the palace’s grand interior and infrastructure. When preserving a historical treasure, time is not of the essence, but rather patience. So time was taken to thread cable from one room to the next by going up three stories and down again so not to make any fresh insertions into the walls. Pre-existing pathways were followed from lamp to socket to switch.
The electrical plates, the face of the re-wiring, were all made bespoke, in order to match the old, by Focus SB. The plates had to be approved by English Heritage. So, at first, a photograph of a Focus SB made plate was sent to them, and then a member of staff visited Hampton Court to view and give the go-ahead before they were installed. This planning process took around six weeks and Focus SB had to be prepared to make the alterations.
Brimmel commented: “The amount of work that went into this simple job is incredible. Focus SB were good to us; they were patient and empathetic. This was a very particular job and they never promised more than they could deliver.”
Once the electrical plates received approval they were placed into pre-existing holes in the skirting board. The finishes and design varied, for the Queen’s bedroom and drawing room, a bronze finished plate was used. For the Queen’s Court, sockets with primed flip lids were used. Once fitted, these were painted the same colour of the room and affectively hidden from view.
Roger Kemp, managing director of UK manufacturing company Focus SB, commented on what it was like to work to such specific criteria: “As a UK manufacturer it is really satisfying to be working on historic UK properties in conjunction with English Heritage in order to maintain the integrity of the building for future generations.”
Focus SB worked on period properties, independent and group owned hotels and modern interiors. They cut and finish their plates in their workshop in East Sussex, and because of this, their team can work closely to designers to ensure what they produce fits perfectly.
