For centuries, Nottingham’s Galleries of Justice housed the city’s courts and prison but these days the buildings are a museum and a top venue for events such as Bonsers Building & Conservation’s 50th anniversary celebrations that were held there this month.

Managing Director Jo Bonser and her fellow Directors from the Newark, Nottinghamshire, business welcomed architects, main contractors and clients they had worked with to the former magistrates’ court.

The proceedings began with what was sometimes an emotional trip down memory lane for Jo Bonser as she looked back over the 50 years that the company has traded – and the verdict from rather more than 12 good men (and women) was returned that Bonsers has done a great job restoring and conserving some of the most important buildings of the county, such as the Bentinck Memorial and Mansfield Viaduct, the Albert Hall in Nottingham itself, and the city’s St Barnabus Cathedral and St Mary’s Church.

Not that Bonsers has only worked on its home turf. It has been involved in projects as far apart as London and Scotland, although, as a mid-sized stone and conservation specialist, much of its work has been in the East Midlands.

In earlier times, Bonsers’ offices were in what is now the Bread & Bitter pub and a special golden birthday brew, as well as a cake, marked the anniversary.