The Lime Centre was set up by Bob Bennett in the late 1980s as a training centre and supplier of pure lime products. The Lime Centre was officially opened by Professor John Ashurst in 1990. Bob and John can be seen in the photographs slaking quick lime on the opening day. In 2009 I took over the running of The Lime Centre from Bob and continued the process of supplying information, training and materials. My first discovery of lime mortar was back in 1993 during the restoration of St John’s Old School in Wapping with its’s fine Coade stone statues, in twin alcoves with gauged brickwork, which can be seen in the photographs. I spent the next 15 years working on the restoration and conservation of historic buildings before taking over from Bob. We continue to give advice and supply a full range of lime products including lime putty mortar & plaster, natural hydraulic lime mortar & render, and Roman Cement render. There have been significant improvements in the quality and range of products, in particular the preblended renders. One example is Roman Cement Render or Roman Stucco which is now a well-developed workable product which has been used with great success on the castellations at Trinity College and after analysis and consultation with Stafford Holmes, it has been used to match the existing render at the mansion in Gunnersbury Park. In recent years we have seen an increase in the information available on the internet which is often conflicting and confusing. We therefore continue to share our knowledge of historic buildings and suitable products, and combined with our knowledge of how the building industry works, we hope you can use us with confidence.
