It has been a little while since our last update but a lot has been happening in the meantime.
Most strikingly of all the first window has been installed as shown in the photo above, in the South West end of the building adjacent to the old Goods Yard (now occupied by Artel Scaffolding).
These windows, as previously reported, are faithful replicas of the originals, supplied by ‘Knock-Out Joinery‘ of Luton. This window used to provide daylight to the Gents’ urinals, and as shown in the photo below has been recreated just like the original with a fixed square panel of frosted glass (for privacy) occupying roughly two-thirds of the height, and a hinged ‘fanlight’ at the top. This area of the building will now be occupied partially by a disabled-friendly unisex WC, and partially by an Archive Room.
Speaking of urinals…..during preparation work for the floor, the original drainage gully was uncovered, as shown in the photos below – lovely!!
A slightly more upmarket part of the original floor has also been uncovered, these red and black tiles surrounded the hearth in the Ladies’s Waiting Room:
Inside the building, the freshwater supply has been extended to what will be the kitchen and WC areas, and correspondingly the waste water pipes have also been laid.
Work continues on the brickwork with an estimated two more weeks of work remaining to finish the cleaning and re-pointing. Progress has been hampered a little by the need to source replacement bricks to match those that are either missing or damaged beyond repair, it is particularly difficult to source the special curved bricks which make up the decorative ‘architrave’ around the top of the building:
