MY great grandfather’s building firm operated from the site in Station Road, Knowle, now home to Greswolde Construction, which seems a very fitting use of the site where he ran his business for almost 50 years. As a child, all I knew about John Bowen was that he was the son of a blacksmith from the village of Rochford, near Tenbury Wells in Worcestershire. Family stories relate that he walked into Birmingham with a sack of tools on his back to start work as a carpenter in 1868. Two years later, aged 25, he started the business that later became one of the city’s best known and respected building firms. John Bowen was blessed with a shrewd business brain and his work was excellent. That combination laid the foundation for his future success and he soon acquired an enviable reputation. He built many public buildings and business premises in the heart of the city, including nine in Corporation Street alone. He also built Victorian boarding schools in Kings Norton and Aston and several swimming baths and churches across the city. The firm’s most prestigious project was the construction of the Victorian Law Courts in Birmingham’s Corporation Street in 1887, together with The Wesleyan Hall, which still stands opposite the Law Courts. His buildings changed the face of the city, with major stores such as Liberty’s, Newbury’s and AR Dean’s furniture shop being built during the period 1886 to 1896. In the early 1900s, he won huge contracts to build asylums in Birmingham at Hollymoor and at Netherne in Surrey. Following John’s retirement, in 1910, the firm went on to produce other notable Birmingham buildings, including the Old Repertory Theatre in 1913 and the Hall of Memory in 1922. The last building constructed by the firm was the old Midland Bank in Dorridge. It’s still standing, but is now a café. A High Sheriff of Worcestershire in 1916, John had his own coat of arms and was a prominent Mason and Wesleyan Methodist. Before moving to Knowle, John’s business premises were in Balsall Heath, where he built his home in 1884. He named it after his village Rochford, and he lived there until his death in 1926. ANTHONY COLLINS KEELE University’s latest ground-breaking development will attract surgeons from across the UK. The £2.8m project will allow the School of Medicine to join a select group of institu- tions offering leading edge technology and teaching facilities. Greswolde has begun work on the extension at the David Weatherall building to enlarge the Anatomy Skills Facility. It will not only improve facilities for stu- dents, but also offer senior surgeons the opportunity to improve high level skills in the most up-to-date teaching environment. “There are very few Universities that have the kind of facilities we are building here and we have already had a great deal of interest from across the UK in booking training places, even before the facility is built,” said Business Manager Margaret Hollins. “The Medical School is already a flag- ship building on the campus and this devel- opment will increase that high profile.” The new facility will be housed in an extension to the Medical School building. The complex build will also involve rais- ing the existing single storey IT suite, alter- ations to office accommodation and high level specialist Mechanical and Electrical installations. A number of temporary screens will be erected around the existing anatomy suite to provide maximum privacy during construction work. Greswolde’s Building With Care ethos will ensure minimum disruption to students and staff. The project is the latest to be undertak- en by Greswolde, which last year complet- ed a £2.3m nursery on campus and was also responsible for a £2.3m chemistry lab- oratory in 2009, which was the first campus BREEAM Excellent rated building. The University’s Head of Projects, Cathy Partington, commented: “Greswolde’s pre- vious successful projects were an impor- tant consideration in tendering for this lat- est project. The construction developments are part of a strategic plan to extend and enhance facilities and to keep Keele University competitive in the future.” The latest audio-visual and video cap- ture technology will be built into the heart of the new suite, enabling unprecedented opportunities for the detailed viewing and capturing of anatomical procedures. Touch screens, video editing suites and even secure live dissection broadcasts within the Keele network, will all be provid- ed to enable students to have the most realistic possible experience of real human physiology, at a level not offered in many UK medical schools. Other exciting features include the abili- ty to film trainees practising techniques, which they can then review with their train- er. They will be able to take away digital copies and replay at their convenience, enabling the Medical School to teach the very latest surgical advances. Architect Haydn Robinson, from Halliday Meecham, explained that the new extension was designed to fit into the exist- ing structure. “All the materials will be in keeping; the aim is not to make this building stand out but to blend in,” he said. “The main chal- lenges will be around carrying out the work on a live campus adjacent to the building, which will remain in use throughout.” Greswolde MD Malcolm Priest said that his teams were well used to working on live sites. “One of our specialities is working alongside our clients to enable business as usual,” he added. “We are delighted to be working at Keele University again.” n Professional Team: Architect: Halliday Meecham; QS: Poole Dick Associates; SE: WML Consulting Ltd. GRESWOLDE CONSTRUCTION NEWS & VIEWS Tel: 01564 776271 Fax: 01564 770114 www.greswoldeconstruction.com Issue 42 Spring 2013 5 6 Greswolde is working on the extension to Keele’s Anatomy Skills Facility at its School of Medicine (left). £2.8m project just what the doctor ordered G RESWOLDE is firmly at the heart of a ground- breaking restructuring of West Midlands Ambulance Services, which is providing new cen- tralised Hubs to make services more efficient and cost-effec- tive. The construction teams have completed the first £1.5m Hub, at Electrium Point in Willenhall, and are now hard at work to get two more - at Ibstock Road in Coventry and Hollymoor Point in Rubery - into operation as soon as possi- ble. “These Hubs are an integral part of our plan to get more ambulances in more locations in order to give a better response time and patient experience,” said Simon Lewis, Regional Head of Estates for West Midlands Ambulance Service. “Buildings don’t save lives, but ambulances do and this is a new way of designing our prop- erty portfolio to support our new operating model. “We have worked closely with Greswolde and Hortons to successfully build the first Hub and it is very useful to be able to build on that experience in these latest developments.” The new restructure of the service means disposing of most of the 50 existing West Midlands Ambulance Stations and replacing them with 15 Hubs. Willenhall is the first of six new builds, which will work with a network of more than 100 smaller community stations. The two-storey Hubs all have a large workshop and garage spaces. There are also offices, changing facilities, training rooms and a duty room. Paramedics will report for work at the 24 hour centres and pick up their ambulance which will have already been cleaned, maintained, restocked and checked. Currently, paramedics have to spend time before their shifts making vital checks and restocking ambulances them- selves. Greswolde has worked closely throughout with the Ambulance Service and client Hortons Estate Limited. “We have worked as a team, developing ideas alongside West Midlands Ambulance Service and we have been fine tuning as we go,” said James Slater, Project Manager for Hortons Estate Limited. “It has been exciting to be at the beginning of such an impor- tant restructuring process and the Willenhall Hub was key in set- ting the design process and standards for the Services’ requirements. “The lessons learned were very useful and we have been able to introduce some modifi- cations as a result. “This has been a very posi- tive and hands-on experience all round. Work is continuing well on the next two hubs despite adverse weather which resulted in poor soil conditions. “Greswolde has been accommodating and flexible and is keeping the programme on track.” n Professional Team: Architect: Bryant Priest Newman; EA: PMP Consultants; SE: Couch Consulting Engineers. WE’RE BACK AT KEELE TOO Turn to page 5 for for news of the University’s latest cutting edge development. Building at heart of restructure A MUCH praised project at the historic St Paul’s church got even better when work- men made a miraculous dis- covery. Take a pew and read all about it on page 3. Heavens, that’s good The completed Hub at Willenhall, which was key to set the standards for the new Hubs. THE Children’s Commissioner for England officially opened the new £2.3m Keele University Day Nursery, which was completed by Greswolde in September. Dr Maggie Atkinson was greeted by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Rama Thirunamachandran (pictured) and Deputy Director of Human Resources Rachel Adams, and joined guests on a tour of the new facility. The new environmentally-friendly nursery accommodates up to 128 chil- dren, from three months to school age. It offers an innovative layout, provid- ing a secure and fun environment and optimising access to the outdoors, including an all-weather ‘outdoor class- room’. Following a ceremony to mark the official opening, Dr Atkinson went on to meet academics in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and vis- ited the Sustainability Hub, where she was given an insight into the University’s work with schools in the areas of envi- ronment and sustainability. Day nursery now open GRESWOLDE NEWS FOCUS GRESWOLDE has a historical connection with a famous 19th century Birmingham builder whose firm was responsible for some of the city’s landmark buildings. Research into the life of the prominent public figure John Bowen is being carried out by his great grandson Anthony Collins. Anthony (pictured), now retired, was the founding partner of Anthony Collins Solicitors in Birmingham. He is soon to publish a book about his famous ancestor, and here charts the lega- cy John Bowen left behind, a legacy that changed the face of Britain’s second city. Anthony would be delighted to hear from any readers who have any information that would help his research. He’s particularly interested in the Knowle connection. “John Bowen had ten children in all. Three sons went into the business - the eld- est, Albert (Bertie), my maternal grandfather Arthur and Thomas,” he says. “I am trying to find out more about the Knowle end. “I understand that Bertie Bowen's daugh- ter Barbara ran a decorating firm called Corbetts which was based at Greswolde’s offices.” You can contact Anthony via Greswolde, or direct at [email protected] Noted builder had the right address The man who changed the face of Britain’s second city Images of John Bowen, including (above left), when he was High Sheriff in 1916 Top right: The Victorian Law Courts, one of many landmark Birimingham buildings built by John Bowen GN42p156_Gres 01/02/2013 12:04 Page 1