Case Study:

Royal Liberty Grammar School

Architect: Vincent and Gorbing
Client: Willmott Dixon
End Use: Boys Grammar School

History of the building

Built originally in 1769-70 as a country house for John A. Wallinger, the Royal Liberty School is a state comprehensive secondary school for boys. Being initially a traditional English grammar school, the school joined the Success for all Education Trust in 2017. The school is situated on Upper Brentwood Road about 400 metres north of Gidea Park railway station, and approximately halfway between Gidea Park and Ardleigh Green to the north-east of Romford. Royal Liberty officially become a school in 1921, the first headmaster was Barrett Hartley.
With good grounding in subjects like maths, science and geography from their RL curriculum, pupils were considered ideal to be recruited during the second world war as pilots and navigators, and unfortunately, around 100 former students died in the war.
Royal Liberty was the first school in Europe to install an electronic computer (an Elliott 903 similar to the 920 military version) in 1965.

A V V Solutions works involved the restoration of the existing building both internally and externally.

Restoration of the existing Portland stone façade was achieved using the ThermaTech and VorTech cleaning systems.
Portland stone repairs, replacement and repointing in a lime mortar.
Structural embedment repairs, referred to as masonry stitching.
Replacement of existing iron cramps with grade 316 stainless steel cramps.
Construction of a new access ramp to the 1920’s building.
On the 20th Century extension new window openings have been formed and a new main entrance doorway was formed and finished with reconstituted stone surround by Haddonstone.
Internal masonry repairs including removal and reinstatement of traditional plasters.
Internal traditional Lime plastering with Timber Laths.
Run In-Situ Moulding Repairs and Replacements.
Heavily worn stair treads have been repaired with new stone indents.
Gypsum Plastering

“AVV Solutions were appointed as the Brickwork Contractor on for a project consisting of extension, alteration, and refurbishment of the existing Inner Temple Treasury Building. Most notably AVV are very helpful and commercially very competitive when taking on additional work. AVV’s Works began in February 2020 and they continued to work though the Covid-19 Pandemic while working to an extremely high standard and adhering to government guidance. Their approach to health and safety aligns with what Sir Robert McAlpine expects from a supply chain partner. They take physical and mental health/wellbeing of the workforce very seriously”

Sir Robert McAlpine

Read More Testimonials

“Construction Manager Magazine - Nov 2020 article “The original cornicing was moulded on to the ceiling and these sections were removed and later reinstated by our restoration specialist – AVV Solutions – who had to make good every individual cornice. A lot of the plaster on the walls had de-bonded – we used a ‘knock test’ to check this – and in these cases the plaster was removed under semi-controlled conditions because of the asbestos risk. This was replaced with lime plaster. The drawback here is the time it takes to dry, probably a week for two coats. Logistics was key to managing this work. We created a programme where eBrit would hack off the plaster, then AVV would follow through to replace it, moving from room to room. It gave continuity to the work.” Heritage Plastering - AVV Solutions Ltd”

Chris Linfoot - Willmott Dixon Interiors