Gray’s Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London, the farthest away from the Royal Courts of Justice and the smallest of the four. Using secondary glazing the Inn is now a warmer and quieter environment
The other three are Lincoln’s Inn, Inner Temple, and Middle Temple. The Gray’s Inn Estates provides a library, bar, dining hall, training, and conferences for its members and students.
The Inn also has massive grounds that are accessible to the public in the day and are frequently used for corporate events.
The majority of the Inn’s buildings are let to barristers and commercial tenants and generate income to finance the Inn’s charitable activities.
Secluded within the London concrete jungle, on the north side of Holborn, Gray’s Inn has a sizeable estate, largely set around two squares and its gardens, better known as The Walks.
The exact date of the establishment of the Inn is unknown; however, the earliest reference to it appears in 1370. In the late 17th century it was devastated by disastrous fires and laid impoverished for years.
In 1802 rebuilding work began to restore damaged buildings and by 1825 The Raymond Buildings was completed, which was where Charles Dickens first started work at the high desk.
Devastated by bad luck, the Inn was yet again subject to destruction from bombing during the Second World War, a lot of the buildings we see today are the result of that damage with rebuilding taking place in the late 1950s.
The solution
In 1999, Selectaglaze first began installing secondary glazing at Gray’s Inn, when one of the buildings was being converted to an apartment hotel for use by members.
A total of 65 windows were treated with large Series 60 tilt-in vertical sliders, to compliment the off-set primary single glazing.
The units were fitted to enhance the thermal insulation, as the original glazing was cold and draughty.
In 2017 a further 40 units were installed, again to areas used as residential accommodation for barristers and trainees alike.
A mixture of Series 10 horizontal sliding units and Series 20 vertical sliding units were installed to provide thermal insulation as well as noise insulation for those apartments overlooking the noisy and busy Gray’s Inn Road.
The Estates team is refurbishing areas of the estate identified as vulnerable and requiring upgrading to bring them up to 21st century standards.
The Inn’s Tim Bell said: “Having worked with Selectaglaze for a number of years, whilst upgrading various areas of the estate, there is no doubt that their secondary glazing is of high quality and definitely raises the thermal and noise insulation of the original glazing, which can be noticed almost immediately.
“With much more work planned over the next few years, we look forward to continuing our relationship with them.”
