Special Projects

2-bay oak notice board with rotating Open and Shut slats for Redbournbury Mill & Bakery, Hertfordshire.

When it came to solving the problem of publicising the differing opening times of their watermill and its associated bakery, the volunteers at Redbournbury Mill near St Albans in Hertfordshire can most definitely be said to have used their loaf.

Greenbarnes Ltd was approached by designers Roy Bellamy working on behalf of the Mill, to manufacture a notice board incorporating independently rotating slats which in addition to conveying general information about the Mill and Bakery within a glazed display area also indicate whether the respective parts are open or closed.

“We chose a Greenbarnes notice board because you were able to adapt one of your standard boards to our needs. You supplied extra oak engraved panels which we have fitted to the base of the board, allowing us to rotate them to show the different combinations of opening times for the mill and bakery.”, commented Justin James. “We also liked the fact that the boards are produced from oak which is used extensively in the mill and they look very appropriate in an idyllic rural setting.”

We chose a Greenbarnes notice board because you were able to adapt one of your standard boards to our needs. You supplied extra oak engraved panels which we have fitted to the base of the board, allowing us to rotate them to show the different combinations of opening times for the mill and bakery.

Whilst it is good to know that the end result met expectations, equally gratifying are Justin’s comments on the process of getting there.

“Your staff were always friendly, well informed and efficient when contacted and were particularly helpful last week when we needed to collect the signs at short notice. I am delighted with the quality of the boards and with my whole experience of working with your company.”

If thoughts of fresh baked bread have you salivating already, further details of Redbournbury Mill and Bakery can be found at www.RedbournburyMill.co.uk/. Meanwhile if your appetite is for a similar project, please call us on 01280 701093, email our Sales Department or see more of our hardwood notice boards here.

Maintenance-free Man-made Timber notice boards from Greenbarnes Ltd welcome visitors to the National Trust's Cragside Estate in Northumberland.

Visitors to the National Trust’s Cragside Estate in Northumberland are now presented with the information necessary to make the most of their visit courtesy of a series of recently installed information boards manufactured from recycled plastics.

No less than 15 boards from the Greenbarnes Man-made Timber (MmT) range have been installed throughout the extensive property which has 9 separate car parks and 30 miles of footpaths.

The Trust’s decision to opt for maintenance-free MmT boards rather than their traditional timber equivalent is in keeping with the pioneering spirit of the property which, as the family home of Victorian inventor and industrialist Lord Armstrong, was not only the first house to be lit by hydro-electricity but also boasts a wealth of other ingenious gadgetry including fire alarm buttons, telephones, a passenger lift and a Turkish bath suite.

“I am very happy with the boards. They are perfect for what we wanted and have made a great impact in the few weeks they have been up. They fit into the landscape/setting very comfortably, particularly as we are a Grade One listed landscape. I am particularly keen on the use of recycled materials”, commented Duncan Norman of The National Trust, on the decision to opt for MmT in such a sensitive location.

I am very happy with the boards. They are perfect for what we wanted and have made a great impact in the few weeks they have been up. They fit into the landscape/setting very comfortably, particularly as we are a Grade One listed landscape. I am particularly keen on the use of recycled materials.

As the accompanying photographs illustrate, we think he has a point! To learn more about the benefits of our maintenance-free recycled plastic notice boards ring us on 01280 701093, email our Sales Department or go to www.greenbarnes.co.uk/product-type/noticeboards/man-made-timber-notice-boards

Top: Burgess Square signage in stainless steel. Bottom: Bespoke oak-framed chalk board for The Old Hall Bookshop

A quick glance at our “Recent Projects Map” immediately reveals the nationwide coverage achieved by Greenbarnes products. However, three very different signage jobs, coincidentally all undertaken within the last 3 months in our home town of Brackley, Northants, have combined to provide a useful showcase of the company’s diversity.

First to be completed was a project for developer Swan Hill Homes Ltd in connection with the town’s new Burgess Square development. The signs, in brushed stainless steel with chemically etched graphics, are mounted between bollards at the front edge of the site to identify the newly created space and to delineate it from the existing Market Place.

Immediately opposite the Burgess Square project, but a world away in style, a bespoke oak-framed chalk board for our local independent book shop demonstrates the company’s skills in more traditional areas of sign-making. The Old Hall Bookshop occupies elegant Georgian premises set back from the High Street behind a garden area and was looking for a way to raise its profile by means of getting a variable message to passers-by. The railing-mounted board can be removed for safe storage at night.

Last but not least was a brace of powder-coated aluminium “tray” type signs with computer-cut vinyl graphics for life insurance specialists Pulse Insurance Ltd who have recently opened new premises in the town.

If you are considering any signage projects, why not contact our Sales Department for a no-obligation quotation.

Cows on the mooove!

Created in 1978, the Concrete Cows of Milton Keynes have become the city’s best-loved and most widely known piece of public artwork. To date the cows have lead an adventurous lifestyle which has included being kidnapped and held to ransom, decapitated Damien Hurst style and headlining at the Cambridge Folk Festival.

Now, in order that they may be enjoyed by a wider audience, five of the herd have been loaned to Midsummer Place Shopping Centre by their owners, The Parks Trust. Greenbarnes Ltd are delighted to have been chosen to supply the three bespoke interpretation panels, framed in oak with graphics printed onto Dibond panels, which accompany the three cows and two calves currently corralled under the oak tree in the centre.

One of the more unusual challenges to present itself in 2007 was the construction of a new “watering point” for St Peter’s Church, Iver in Buckinghamshire. The project required that the new unit, which was funded by a family in memory of their parents, be built as closely as possible as a replica of the original, a challenge made no easier by the absence of a number of the original details.

The new unit, which we are delighted to report has been well received by the client is constructed in oak and comprises a pair of 100mm square posts with decorative brackets, a central panel and “tap box” to accommodate the plumbing and a hipped roof structure with oak slats and ridge mouldings.