Alpro opening doors at castle

Transom closers and hook locks from Alpro have been installed in a new visitor centre at Sudeley Castle near Winchcombe in Gloucestershire, England.

The castle lies in a 1,200-acre estate on the Costwold Hills and was used by Richard III as a base during the Wars of the Roses. It is also the last resting place of Katherine Parr, a wife of Henry VIII who outlived him. The Alpro transom closers are being used on aluminium doors created by Stroud-based Hybrid Windows who work with clients on timber composite curtain walling as an enhancement for façades. The company’s Hybrid suite is the only UK timber composite fenestration range to include curtain walling.

Alpro’s transom closers are a means of hydraulically controlling the opening and closing of aluminium doors. Builders and glaziers benefit from the ability to adjust the latching and closing force created by the hydraulic valve according to the weight and height of individual doors as well as type of usage. Precise adjustment of closing force is vital at a site such as the Sudeley Castle visitor centre which will have a varied user base.

The castle visitor centre also features Alpro’s round mortice cylinder hook lock deadlocks which are available in both bar and hookbolt versions for sliding doors and the swing doors used on this project. The hookbolt is made from stainless steel and is a five-ply laminated construction with the centre core case hardened and complete with a hardened roll pin to resist hacksaw attack.

Sudeley Castle has recently opened up rooms that have never been seen before by the public. There are nine individual gardens with notable recent gardeners including celebrity gardening journalist Sir Roddy Llewellyn who lives in the Cotswolds.

The Knot Garden (pictured) is based on the pattern of a dress worn by Elizabeth I who was an admirer of the hundreds of types of roses planted here. There are over 1,200 box hedges in the garden’s intricate geometric design which centres on a Moorish mosaic fountain.

The comprehensive range offered by Hybrid Windows includes products that combine long-life and low-maintenance aluminium on the outside with the high insulation performance and environmentally-focused benefits of 100% PEFC-accredited timber to the inside. (PEFC is an international sustainable forest management organisation.) Leonard Roberts, a director of Hybrid Windows, said: “The Alpro transom closers are our regular choice for aluminium doors. The units do not disturb the outline of the door and the precise adjustment of closing force as well as a hold-open option help our engineers give customers the performance they want.”