A NORTH construction company has joined the restoration team working on an 18th Century house and stable block that was formerly the ancestral home of the late Queen Mother's family.
The Gibside estate, at Rowlands Gill, near Gateshead, which was taken over by The National Trust from the Earl of Strathmore, is undergoing a £1.8m renovation.
Leading workers Laing O'Rourke has called on the joinery expertise of the MMP Group, based in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, to restore the three-metre high pine doors in the stable block.
The restoration of the doors, some of which date from the original George Bowes plan, is part of a development in which the two-storey stable block will be part-renovated to become an educational facility.
The other part will be restored to a working stable, while the upper floor will house executive meeting rooms and accommodation for National Trust volunteers and corporate guests.
MMP joinery manager John Bake said: "The Gibside project is a really lovely project for us, as besides helping to restore such a lovely and historic building, it is presenting us with a real challenge to maintain the authenticity of the stable block."
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