Batten & Beam Heritage Restoration

09/04/2026

After our client had asked us to redecorate the rest of the elevation we already repaired, we had this 6ft piece of timber come off in our hands.

Moving quickly, we sourced a new length, weathered it, cut out sections for overlaps, trimmed it to size and shape, reinserted the original timber dowels and painted to match - all in two days alongside redecorating the whole elevation!

31/03/2026

This wall isn’t solid brick.
It’s a historic brick-faced system built over a softer backing.

So when it fails, the solution isn’t to rip it out and rebuild in modern materials.

It’s to:
• Understand how it was originally built
• Repair like-for-like using breathable materials
• And blend the repair so it disappears

This is the difference between:
A repair that lasts
…and one that causes more damage

📍 Rye | Hastings | Battle
📩 Message us for advice on period property repairs

15/03/2026

Sometimes the correct repair is not doing the work immediately.

This wall shows classic signs of long-term moisture retention — algae growth, vegetation, saturated brickwork and water discharge from the gutter above.

If we repointed the wall now, even using lime mortar, the masonry would still be saturated and the repair would likely fail prematurely.

Instead, the correct sequence when we attend the property next month is:

• Address the source of water
• Remove vegetation and organic growth
• Allow the wall to dry naturally
• Then carry out lime repointing when conditions are right

Older buildings require diagnosis before intervention.

Clear advice. Traditional materials. Work that lasts.

—
Batten & Beam Ltd
Heritage Restoration & Renovation
Rye • Hastings • Battle

10/03/2026

New uniform!

Shout out to for helping us with our new branded gear ready for a busy year on sites around East Sussex!

22/02/2026

21/02/2026

Our top 5 requested services:

1. Timber Repairs
2. Lime Repointing
3. Sash Window Repairs
4. Roof Repairs
5. Stud Walls

We also offer plenty more services - take a look at our website and recent jobs to see more.

Now taking bookings for June 2026!

13/02/2026

Kitchen wall installation and complete transformation of the space .rye

We removed the old kitchen dividing wall and opened up the whole space with a new fire safe wall, complete with hygienic PVC kitchen side and matching panelling customer side. The pant colours from and compliment each other perfectly.

The new service hatch is already reaching excellent potential and we received so many compliments from staff and customers alike ❤️ #

05/02/2026

Hidden History - The story in the stone

At first glance, these look like Roman numerals carved above a doorway. But they’re not a message — they’re instructions.

Look closely at the stone arch above the door at St Mary’s Church, Rye and you’ll see a sequence cut into the masonry:

I, II, III, IIII, IIIII… all the way up the arch.

These marks were made by Norman stonemasons nearly 900 years ago.

⸻

🪨 Why are the stones numbered?

In the 12th century, arches weren’t built in place.

They were:
• cut and shaped on the ground
• laid out flat to form a perfect arch
• numbered in order
• dismantled and then rebuilt stone-by-stone on site

Each number told the mason exactly where that stone belonged.

This wasn’t classical Roman numerals — it was tally counting, fast and practical.
That’s why you see sequences like IVII instead of the modern “VII”.

⸻

🏗 Why this matters

These faint marks are the fingerprints of medieval craftsmen —
evidence of how the building was made, not just how it looks.

Most were lost to weathering or later repairs.
The fact these survive means this doorway still carries its original Norman fabric.

⸻

Hidden History:
Sometimes the most important stories in historic buildings aren’t carved to be read —
they were carved to be used.

⸻

04/02/2026

Wall cover

Our commercial client didn’t like tiles left by a previous tenant in this shop in Hastings. As they were tiled straight to the plasterboard, the client asked us just to cover them.

With the customer wanting to do all the decorating we installed battens along the whole 5.5m corner space, before screwing on 12mm Class2 plywood sheets. We then caulked gaps and filled screw holes ready for the client to decorate.

01/02/2026

Quick shower tray re-seal this afternoon for a local customer.

Old silicone removed, cleaned out with Multi-Solve, new sealant installed for a quick job completed and a very happy customer!

28/01/2026

See the fingerprints?

Found these on the back of some roofing tiles we were working on today. These aren’t marks from wear or damage.

Pressed into soft clay, these are children’s fingerprints, left behind while this roof tile was being made by hand — long before mechanised production or factory moulds.

In traditional tile yards, clay tiles were shaped, lifted and stacked while still wet. Children often worked alongside parents, helping to move tiles to drying racks or kilns. When handled too early, fingerprints were left behind and fired permanently into the clay.

Once the tile went into the kiln, those marks became part of the material forever.

Centuries later, they remain — a quiet, human record of the people who built our historic buildings, not by machines, but by hand.

It’s details like this that remind us: heritage buildings don’t just hold history — they are history.