Blue Boar Contracts: Case study 1 – Bishop’s Palace, Wells

Brief project information:

The location:	The Bishop Palace, Wells, Somerset
The project:	To remove 4400m3 of silt which was increasing weed growth and affecting the wellbeing of the swans, kingfishers, fish and other wildlife.
Timescale:	May - July 2006
PDF:	Download case study - Bishop's Palace Wells

“Blue Boar did an excellent job. They stuck to their timescales and were polite and helpful throughout. The Bishop was pleased with the finished result and we all think that it looks grand now.”

Alan Thomas, Historic Buildings Conservation Architect

The location:

The Bishop’s Palace in Wells has been the home of the Bishops of Bath and Wells since 1206. Set in 14 acres and attracting visitors from all over the world, one of its key features is the Bishop’s Palace Moat, dug in 1345 to surround the palace and inner gardens. It is half a mile long and home to swans and kingfishers, as well as a range of other wildlife.

The project:

The Palace is also home to the springs (from which the city takes its name) and more than 100 litres of water per second flow from these into the moat, carrying a large volume of silt that settles at the bottom. Over time, the build up of silt results in more weed growth and a reduction in the depth of the water which causes problems for the wildlife living there.

In 2005, a bypass pipeline was installed. This takes a proportion of the water from the springs directly into the river significantly decreasing the volume of water – and silt – that flows into it. In future, this will substantially reduce how often the moat will need dredging - but first a major cleaning exercise and some bank re-development work was needed.

Why Blue Boar?

The Historic Buildings Conservation Architect, Alan Thomas, contacted British Waterways for advice about suppliers who were able to undertake this project and out of a number of recommended companies, Blue Boar was selected. Why? Because we were flexible about timescales, represented the best value for money and we had a superb track record in other similar projects.

The challenges:

A number of issues had to be taken into consideration during the project.

We were working in a public thoroughfare with cycle paths and footpaths and it was essential that these routes were kept clear. This was particularly challenging as the silt had to be transported across these paths from the moat to the trucks and then on to nearby farmland.
The mating season of the swans and the nesting season of the kingfishers had to be taken into account.
There were only two weeks during which no weddings were planned at The Palace so we had a very small window of time when sensitive work on the moat and the springs could be undertaken.
The silt contained more stones and debris than expected, so it had to be screened and the debris removed before we could transport it to a local farm where it was then used for soil improvement.

“Blue Boar liaised with a local farmer to manage the transportation process, again a sensitive area of the project which they handled very efficiently.”

Alan Thomas

The outcome:

The silt was removed successfully with no disruption to the wildlife, the public or the wedding parties – and we then began re-developing some of the bank edging which had eroded over time. We used oak edging for around half the length of the moat as the remaining stone edging was still in good condition.

The finished look has been much admired by visitors to The Palace.