Plans submitted to install lightning protection measures at Wallington Hall
A planning application has been submitted to install lightning protection measures at a building near Morpeth that is popular with tourists.
The National Trust says that its bid for the Grade I listed 17th Century country house at Wallington will safeguard the building.
Known as Wallington Hall, the original open courtyard was roofed over in the 1850s and the pre-Raphaelite artist William Bell Scott created eight large wall paintings for the space.
The proposed measures include the installation of air rods and the addition of conductors and earthing cable.
The design and access statement, one of the documents lodged with Northumberland County Council, includes the following: “The aim of this project is to provide an insurable, resilient and low-visibility lightning protection solution to safeguard the historic building of Wallington Hall – thereby preserving its core significance.
“The standards required for the protection system are very specific.
“However, wherever feasible, opportunities are taken to ensure bars linking the rooftop conductors to the ground occur in fairly discreet locations and careful thought has been given to how to locate these around the property and provide the protection required in as discrete as way as possible.
“It is felt that the current scheme offers a solution that allows a complaint system to be installed in a way which minimises impact on the building.
“For example, it is proposed to install 14 down conductors around the perimeter of the hall, running vertically from roof height to termination at ground level.
“The design has avoided placing these conductors on the highly significant South Front, instead being positioned only to the East, West and North.”