High praise for Hooke Heritage Centre following initial consultation

High praise from Historic England for a contemporary solution to Hooke Heritage Centre following initial consultation

On the 8th September, as part of Heritage Open Week, James gave a talk to members of the congregation, community, as well as planning and heritage experts from Milton Keynes Council. The purpose of the presentation was to present early ideas for the development of a heritage centre at St Mary Magdalene Church Willen.

The concept of the new building is to provide space for facilities that cannot be held in the church owing to its significance, as well as providing a flexible space that can be used by heritage visitors to learn more about polymath Sir Robert Hooke, a very special scientist who was also repsonsible for the design and construction of St Mary Magdalen’s Church.

Historic England have provided positive encouragement for the development of options at St Mary Magdalen Church, Willen. They responded as follows:

With regards to the internal reordering options, given the high degree of significance which we attach to the interior furnishings any internal reordering, involving loss of pews, would in our view entail a high degree of harm and gives considerable cause for concern. The less radical reordering to repurpose the south vestry into an accessible toilet, whilst would be less harmful, it still would be a complex undertaking, and would require a large degree of intervention into the fabric of this Grade I listed church, change of levels and potentially access, which raises a number of concerns.

The parish have put forward a number of indicative options of a separate building standing to the north of the churchyard. In our view, these options demonstrate that the distance between the two could be sufficient to allow an appreciation of the architectural qualities of Hooke’s church, particularly in views from the west. Whilst being able to appreciate this building in its simple and largely unaltered form contributes to its aesthetic qualities and therefore is an important aspect of its significance, we do not hold that its architectural qualities are dependant of it appearing completely alone in the church-yard. Therefore whilst building on this site could entail a degree of harm to the significance of the church, providing the design is good, no key views are blocked and the two buildings are clearly separate this harm could be kept to a low level. 

Of the proposed designs, Option 1 and 2 both propose avowedly contemporary designs, which appear the right response here; the character of the church is so strong that it would be very difficult to successfully emulate. The angled roof and form of Option 1 seems to particularly works well, succeeding in being deferential without being apologetic and makes for an interesting structure. We however appreciate there may be archaeological impacts that need to be further understood as well as any implications from removing the tree. The success of the designs, and how well it relates to the church, will be dependant largely on the quality of the materials and detailing used.

Option 2 for the proposed new Hooke Heritage Centre

We look forward to developing the scheme through to the next stage.

Fundraising - Unseen

This year James Mackintosh Architects Ltd are raising funds for Unseen. Over the past 5 years we have provided our clients with free no obligation advice first visit. From January 2023 we like to encourage potential clients make a donation to a cause that will better the world around us and the society we live in. At the end of the year we will match the donations pledged.

This year we are raising money in aid of unseen(uk).

More information about unseen(uk): Unseen’s vision is a world without slavery. It works both on the frontline providing direct support to modern slavery survivors and on tackling the systemic issues that allow slavery to survive. Unseen runs safe housing, outreach services, and the UK’s Modern Slavery Helpline. It equips business, NHS, police and others with training and resources to identify and support potential victims, and works to improve government policy, and to influence wider consumer choices.

For more information see https://www.unseenuk.org/

Recently completed - The Old Rectory, Gloucestershire

Recently completed in just 6 months, we received listed building consent to extend the Grade II listed Old Rectory in an incredibly sensitive location and without amendment.

Two previous schemes having been refused, and we were warned that planning would not be easy - not only as a result of the proximity to the church and the former neighbours living close by, but also that the annex the extension was connected to was reportedly 15th century.

Roof repairs to a Grade I listed Country House

Our recently completed re-roofing of a Grade I listed Country House has been published in the recent Listed Property Owners Club Magazine.

Last year we completed a re-roofing repair of a Grade I listed house in Northampton. The cautious approach to conservation undertaken ensured that significant historic fabric was retained as well as de-risking the project and reducing the anticipated repair bill by two thirds.

46-48 Covered Market wins Oxford Preservation Trust Award

In October this year we were awarded a certificate at the Oxford Preservation Trust awards for our involvement in the restoration of the historic shopfront of 46-48 Covered Market.

As with many of our projects the success of the completed project looks like they have always been there, through preserving and enhancing the structure and historic fabric of the grade II listed market. Despite the size of the units the work involved in their transformation was considerable owing to damage caused to the units prior to their listing in 2000.

Completed - Church Farm House North Moreton

Church Farm House is a generous family home, however, the oldest part of the house is timber framed with very small windows. The interior therefore lacked aspect onto the garden and surrounding countryside. The existing kitchen was too small and lacked a dining area. Having recently moved into the house, our clients wished to modernise and extend the house to contemporary living standards.

In order that the works could be progress as soon as soon as possible, we developed a programme and separated the project into three phases to prioritise planning permission for the Annex, so that this building could be built and occupied whilst work on the house was underway. This allowed time for pre-applications exploring options for extending the listed building.

Planning permission for the annex was granted in early 2020 and the works completed by December 2020. Works on the house started in January 2021 and completed by October 2021.

Completed - The Elizabethan House, New Street, Plymouth

The Elizabethan House reopens as a new immersive museum experience at No.32 New Street the Barbican, animating the story of the house and those that lived there through the eyes and ears of the building from its construction to the saving of the house in 1930s by the SPAB.

The conservation approach was a result of a joint architectural strategy between JMA and DHVA which identified at the briefing stage that an extension would be required to the rear of the property. We identified early on that the exhibition might require a green room and toilets facilities. The new building contained a riser that allowed the distribution of miles of data cable throughout the old house with the minimal impact on historic fabric. It also acted as a buttress to support the failing rear wall.

This allowed the rooms to be presented authentically, as the spaces themselves remain unchanged as the heritage statement and visual analysis confirmed that the physical spaces remained unchanged for 400 years.

Completed - Mission Church - A faithful approach to design

© Simon Maxwell Photography

Following a sensitive adaptive reuse of a Mission Church, clients Geoff and Julie are celebrating a new lease of life for “The Old Mission Church” which is now available to rent as a Cotswolds retreat in the picturesque village of Paxford. 

Whilst the Mission Church was not listed, the local authority considered the building a non-designated heritage asset. Cotswold District Council’s planning policy confirms that conversions of all non-domestic historic buildings should conserve the significance of the heritage asset including its form, features, character, and setting. A conservation based approach was adopted for the conversion based on an understanding of the buildings history and significance.  

The conservation approach adopted was to repair and reuse the existing fabric whilst adopting a minimal approach to modern interventions through maximising the use of existing spaces and through the installation of a contemporary pod which appears to float in the space, providing a mezzanine level master bedroom and ensuite.  

The final finishing touches are credit to the love and dedication that Geoff and Julie have given the project provided reusing items salvaged from church. A lantern purchased with the building has been restored to be the main light in the living room. The pulpit has become a table and a headboard. The Bell chime mechanism has been restored by Paxford Engineering, new door runners fabricated by MRK and the clock face sprayed at Brothertons, all businesses based on the Northwick Park Estate. 

The external walls have been cleaned, the building fabric insulated and upgraded and the building now has a new use for the next 150 years to be shared with as many guests as possible, whilst continuing to be a beautiful focal point for the village.

Wendy's technical term of the month - Brick Tax

As a result of the brick tax between 1756 and 1850, the increase in the size of a brick is now useful in helping date the construction of a building.

Pre-1784 bricks in the house on the right versus newer bricks on the left.

The impact of the brick tax on architecture was to see many areas returning to the use of timber and weatherboarding in house construction, especially weather tiles to simulate brick work, known as mathematical tiles. Until 1833 the brick tax also applied to roof tiles and drainage pipes. The taxation of pipes led to a lower quality of housing as many households could not afford drainage pipes due to their increased price. Tiles were taxed based on the size and level of decoration, which made people use plain tiles, which were the cheapest. In general buildings constructed before 1784 and after 1850 show more ornaments, better design and detailing than buildings built within this period.

A Brick Tax was first proposed in 1756. The proposal was initially considered to be only partial since much of Britain used stone for building, and unfair, as the tax would not apply to the rich as their houses were built almost exclusively from stone. It failed to pass but was reintroduced in 1784 to help pay for the War of American Independence by which time bricks had grown in popularity and use. Bricks were initially taxed at 2s 6d per thousand and the word ‘excise’ imprinted on bricks that had been taxed.

To mitigate the effects of the per-thousand brick tax, manufacturers began to increase the size of their bricks (useful now as the size of the bricks can help date the construction of a building) this was eventually held in check by new legislation that specified the size of a single brick. The brick tax was finally abolished in 1850 by which time it was considered to be a detriment to industrial development.

Lower Lodge Williamscott - work in progress

It has been nearly 2 years since planning permission was granted at committee for the extension of Lower Lodge Williamscott; having started work in June 2020 works are well underway.

Our clients are well underway to completing the self-build of the alterations and extension to this curtilage listed lodge at Williamscott, Oxfordshire.

The proposals involved a sympathetic extension to the lower lodge to make the 2-bedroom house a 3-bedroom family home with an ensuite bathroom, so there is ample accommodation to make this a forever home in the idyllic hamlet of Williamscott.

Our proposals involve removing all modern extensions to make way for a new sensitive design. The development is to be located as far as possible from the key views to avoid impact on the conservation area and allow the original form of the lodge to be restored. The topography of the site falls away to the south allowing an additional storey to be created below the current ground floor, creating an additional increase in the footprint of the house by 45 sqm. New accommodation at ground floor includes a contemporary kitchen diner with stunning views to the landscape beyond.