Residents may have noticed the changes happening in the Market Place building, but the Bircham team’s hope is that the changes will be barely noticed once the work has been completed.
 
Centre manager Polly Brockis said: “We’re being very careful to maintain the integrity of the building by using the right materials and with high-quality craftsmanship.
 
“Where possible, we’re doing repairs rather than replacing the windows, but sadly some of them were beyond help. In those cases, we’ve ensured like for like.
 
“One important part of the process is to retain the old glass and window furniture wherever we can. New glass has a completely different look and feel to old glass so this has been a priority for us.”
 
When the work began it became clear that the frames of the office window (first floor centre at the front) appeared to be made entirely of some kind of wood resin, which was rotting away. New wood has been carefully used to make it sound again.
 
The window latch handle that had always been at 45 degrees has been left so as not to take away wood – it works as it has always done and is part of the story of the original window.
 
Funding for this project came primarily from two sources: the Pilgrim Trust provided a generous grant and former Reepham-based holiday letting agency Travel Chapter gave a donation as part of its legacy to the town.
 
Ms Brockis said: “We are so very grateful to both organisations for their support to allow us to carry out this essential work.”
 
See our previous story:

• New life for old windows