Artisan Plastercraft Ltd

14/01/2025

Artisan Plastercraft’s Winter Newsletter is out today, containing recent projects, articles and company news, read it here:

19/09/2024

Match-existing plaster fretwork being laid out for the assembly hall at Hammersmith Town Hall. This is hand cast plasterwork created in five repeating panels, with two stacks of five required for the assembly hall.
Watch some of the manufacturing process here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dq3gdpvLZpo

19/09/2024

We love the detail of this frieze moulding recently produced for a restoration project at a Chelsea residency.
How many types of enrichment can you identify?

16/09/2024

We sometimes get asked "What's the largest project you have worked on?". To date it is the transformation of the Old War Office into The OWO Raffles Hotel. Read about our extensive work in this : https://www.artisanplastercraft.com/project/the-owo-london/
Have you visited Raffles London at The OWO? What was your favorite part of the building or experience?

12/09/2024

Historic houses are notorious for issues with deteriorating – but what steps can you take to identify problems early in order to prevent a situation worsening to the point where more radical repairs may prove to be necessary?

Plasterwork tips and advice: Common problems found in historic houses and how to overcome them. https://www.artisanplastercraft.com/artisan-tips-and-advice/common-plasterwork-problems-found-in-historic-houses-and-how-to-overcome-them/

Historic houses are notorious for issues with deteriorating plasterwork. Understand the common problems and how to fix or prevent them.

02/09/2024

On Friday 30th August Brighton Hippodrome held its first performance in 60 years to mark the start of an extensive refurbishment. The historic venue held an open day with entertainment from the Singing Barber - to give people a chance to view the building before a two-year restoration.

"We've fully restored the Frank Matcham fibrous plaster ceiling, that took an awful lot of work. We had Artisan Plastercraft helping us with that, one of the few specialist contractors in the country that deal with ceilings like this." commented Simon Lambor, Director of Matsim Properties Ltd.

Brighton Hippodrome holds first performance in 60 years:

The historic venue held an open day with entertainment to give people a chance to view the building before the two-year restoration. | ITV News Meridian

29/08/2024

Brighton Hippodrome PUBLIC OPEN DAY - Friday 30th August 10am to 4pm.

28/08/2024

As the project at Brighton Hippodrome continues, our case study summarises much of the work put into reviving the auditorium suspended plaster ceiling with its Victorian circus-style .

Brighton Hippodrome was originally conceived as an ice rink back in 1897, but in 1901 it was converted into a circus, designed by renowned architect Frank Matcham, before being redesigned again as a theatre the following year by Bertie Crewe. The Hippodrome has played host to a variety of performing stars, including illusionist Harry Houdini, comedians Laurel and Hardy, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

We have been supporting Matsim Properties Ltd with their project to restore and repurpose the venue, maintaining the auditorium as a performance and entertainment space.

Artisan Plastercraft provided the fibrous plaster ceiling restoration at Brighton Hippodrome including recreated decorative mouldings.

23/08/2024

C45P is a popular dentil block cornice moulding measuring 65mm x 60mm.

Dentil blocks were popular during the Georgian and Victorian periods but their use can be traced back to ancient Greek and Roman architecture.
All our cornice mouldings are hand made using traditional materials and methods.

Order this from our website: https://www.artisanplastercraft.com/shop/cornice/small-dentil-block-cornice-c45p/

Small Georgian period dentil block cornice moulding, manufactured in 3 metre lengths measuring 65mm x 60mm.

22/08/2024

Watch as a plaster moulding repair section for a Grade II listed London entertainment venue is decorated by Andrew Bradley of Artisan Painting and Decorating. We show the results of the processes as base coat, gold leaf and ageing patina are applied to make this decorative repair section blend with its environment. Final finishing is applied in situ once the plaster moulding is fixed in place.

21/08/2024

The fretwork has now been fully assembled and any joins and component gaps made good. This is one of ten identical panels we are producing for Hammersmith Town Hall for Ardmore Construction.