Correspondence from D. Foley, Comprehensive Builder, concerning building work at Penylan House, Cardiff, 10 October 1988

Description

Correspondence from D. Foley, Comprehensive Builder, concerning building work at Penylan House:

The first image is a letter from D. Foley, Comprehensive Builder, to Penylan House Management. The letter is dated 10 October 1988 and refers to work carried out at Penylan House. Delays in the cutting procedure were caused by extreme pressure within the brickwork closing onto the blades as they cut into the walls. Therefore, a different cutting technique would have to be adopted, lengthening the time needed from three weeks to four. Foley's second point concerned the blades: an additional pair of blades were required but Foley would try to recover some of the costs as the blades had been recommended to him yet had not performed well. Foley had met with the architect, Mr Clive Hill of Hoggett Lock-Necrews, and they had estimated that four more movement joints would now be required, resulting in an extra week of hiring the equipment. Foley ends by apologising for any inconvenience caused to residents and to staff.

The second image shows an attachment to the above letter: an invoice from D. Foley for the work completed dated 8 February 1988. It outlines the preparation work (such as erecting scaffolding), cutting out the mortar of the walls and then replacing the brickwork after inspection. The overall cost of labour and equipment is estimated as being £510.00 and added to this in pen at the bottom of the page is "+ £150 for lintel".

Pencare (formerly known as 'The Trustees of Penylan House') is a charity, which offers care for elderly people of the Jewish faith and is currently based in Cardiff, although the catchment area for the home covers South Wales and the West of England. Pencare has been working with Linc Cymru to redevelop their care home, Penylan House, to ensure high quality care to Cardiff's elderly Jewish community and extending the care to elderly people not of the Jewish faith.

Mr Henry Silver and other members of the Cardiff Jewish community had originally founded a Home for the Aged in 1946 in Canton. In December 1948, the Home moved to Holme Towers in Penarth to provide more space for its large number of applications. Despite the beautiful surroundings, the Home in Penarth was quite isolated, so the difficult decision was later taken to move the Home to Penylan Road in Cardiff, meaning many residents were now closer to their friends and relatives. Residents moved to Penylan House in February 1959.

Sources:
http://opencharities.org/charities/243968;
http://www.housingcare.org/downloads/facilities/generated-brochures/134508-penylan-house-nursing-home-cardiff-wales.pdf;
Cajex, Magazine of the Association of Jewish Ex-service Men and Women (Cardiff), Vol. IX, No. 1, Ninth Year - March 1959, pp. 60- 65.

Depository: Glamorgan Archives.