The
Restoration of No1 was completed in 2013 and joined the
house with 1A to form an expanded museum.
Click to see a video of the restoration of 1A
Read more on:
What were the major problems?
Planning:
Getting
planning permission – Grade 1 listed building – Iconic
highly visible building in Bath therefore we had to get
it right. The museum is a significant visitor
attraction which adds to the unique heritage and
cultural offer of Bath as a World Heritage Site. The
Bath Preservation Trust is a consultee in the planning
process and therefore wanted to set an example with its
own applications. The Local Planning Authority also
expressed the expectation that the application should be
extremely thorough due to the historical significance of
the two listed buildings and the need to obtain change
of use for No.1a from residential to museum. The
planning submissions were developed by SM-J in
conjunction with the BPT to a very high standard and
this we think played a large part in achieving the
necessary planning consents relatively simply.
Design:
To reunite
No.1 Royal Crescent museum in Bath with its neighbour
No.1a which was originally the servants’ wing of the
house
Key
philosophy of the design was to limit as much as
possible disruption to No.1 Royal Crescent and to
incorporate the majority of the changes in No.1a
particularly in what was historically the ‘courtyard
area’ between the two buildings and which had been
progressively infilled over the years.
In many areas
both No.1 and 1A have been restored to their original
layouts and the reintroduction of venetian windows to
the ground floor of No.1a reinstates both the symmetry
of the Upper Church street facade and the architectural
link with buildings in the adjacent Brock Street.
With both
vision and innovation the sensitive restoration and
complete re-development of No.1 and 1a has doubled the
amount of interpreted rooms and provided much improved
access and visitor facilities in line with 21st Century
audience expectations. This required a complete
overhaul of the services installations of both buildings
to comply with modern day standards and the addition of
an Introduction Room, a new shop, 2 new galleries (to
Government Indemnity Scheme standards), new sanitary
facilities, offices, and education and research rooms
along with the installation of a lift to allow
wheelchair access to No.1.
The main
design issues were as follows:
Fitting all
the accommodation in within a limited footprint and the
discrepancy in floor levels between 1 and 1a. Key
structural moves enabled this to be achieved:
Obtaining
permission to lower an area of the basement floor in 1a
adjacent to the proposed link through to No.1 - this
provided level access from the new lift in No1a to No1
at Basement level and created space for a new accessible
WC. If we had not done this an additional lift of some
sort would have been required at the junction between
the two buildings to deal with the floor level
difference between the two buildings.
Rationalising
the number of floor levels (from 16! To 8 )in No.1a to
provide more useable space and to facilitate simpler
vertical circulation (the lift requires only 4 stops).
The removal of some floors enabled the opening up of the
space which historically had existed between the two
buildings to create an atrium entrance space which
exposes and makes a dramatic feature of the flying flue
which links the two buildings.
Structural
gymnastics enabled the installation of a new stair into
the new atrium space and the construction of the
external envelope of the stair and lift. The design had
to avoid putting load on the kitchen passageway vaults
in the basement – so these elements were all designed to
‘bridge’ over the vaults.
The lift:
Location of
the lift had to be specifically sited so that it works
not only in terms of providing access where you need it
to but also negotiates any historic structures/fabric as
it rises through the building. The most appropriate
location within the constraints of the site was
identified for achieving this and checked as much as
possible (with LA approval) via trial pit investigations
during the development of the planning applications.
We were not
absolutely sure we could accommodate the lift until the
works contract had started and demolition was fairly
advanced on site and though we were prepared for the
worst it actually transpired that we could use one of
the existing walls of the Gentleman’s Retreat for the
shaft enclosure rather than having to build a completely
independent shaft. We therefore ended up with more room
than we had originally envisaged at the design stage and
were able to increase the size of adjacent spaces which
otherwise could have been very tight.
We were also
able to source a platform lift with fully automatic lift
car doors and landing doors which conveyed an integrated
aesthetic and quality for the building which we felt was
more appropriate than a conventional platform lift which
can look cheap and like a bit of an afterthought. This
could be more easily accommodated due to the gains in
terms of space we had made with the final positioning of
the lift.
The Roofs:
Getting the
new lead and glass roofs to work so that they were not
visible from the street. A problem which was compounded
by the fact that the existing lead roof had been
constructed as an unventilated roof and therefore of
relatively shallow construction. As it was in a very
poor condition it needed to be replaced. The new lead
roof is constructed as a ventilated roof in accordance
with good practice and and therefore of deeper
construction but by using heavier gauge lead and
introducing more and shorter falls we were able to
ensure that it did not project above the level of the
parapet.
Similarly the
glass roof over the main entrance space had to be
configured such that no overtly modern elements can be
seen from the street. The low profile design of the
glazing system used achieved this.
The new
design creates a much neater roofscape than previously
existed (see photos of original roofscape) and sits
within and in many cases significantly below the various
levels and profiles of the original roofs.
Problem
with Party Wall agreement:
Originally
the Contractor’s intention was to put a temporary roof
over the whole of No.1A which would have enabled them to
work in a number of different areas simultaneously. The
construction of this along with the need to build the
external walls of the new lift and stair enclosure on
the boundary wall between the two properties required
access to the adjoining owners courtyard. However the
neighbour was resistant to his courtyard being used and
when it became clear that this could not be resolved via
the Party Wall Agreement the contractor was forced to
reprogramme the works sequentially. Working in areas
concurrently was no longer possible and overhand working
along with the hiring of a cherry picker to span from
the street over the courtyard were required to complete
parts of the external envelope of the new structures.
This added some 9 weeks to the construction programme of
the first phase of the development and delayed the start
of the second phase works to No.1 Royal Crescent.
However, this did not compromise the overall completion
date for the project which eventually finished on time
and under budget.
Services
Installations:
Updating all
the services installations to modern standards and so
that the service runs were now hidden. Numerous
discussion and meetings on site with specialists to
avoid any uneccessary interventions into the historic
fabric and to ensure that services were hidden as much
as possible.
Height of
Boiler flue above roof - pushing the sub-contractor and
mechanical engineer to come up with a solution that kept
the flue discharge at a level so that it is not visible
from the street even when we were being told it was not
possible. Multiple options were explored with the
specialist sub-contractors to ensure that what we have
installed is not visible from the street. The
‘impossible’ was achieved.
Switching and
controls for lighting along with emergency signage, and
call points etc are required but had to be ‘lost’ where
they distract from the authenticity of the interpreted
rooms and spaces. A management plan was developed with
the client and a fire consultant and agreed with
Building Control which enabled nearly all of these to be
either hidden from view (via ‘candleboxes’ for instance)
or deleted.
Lessons
learned
Would have
been good to have been allowed to do a bit more opening
up pre planning in order to eliminate some of the
uncertainties but the planners were reluctant to allow
this in advance of a Planning and Listed Building
Consent for reasons which are understandable.
There were
two separate contracts for No1 and 1A refelecting the
fact that we had a different client for each. For 1a
our client was insistent that there was no contingency
built into the contract sum being of the opinion that if
it is there it gets spent. This required some very
robust cost planning and as it worked out it did not
become an issue. However it is not ideal to work on
projects of this nature with so many uncertanties
without sum form of contingency.
Construction
would have been easier particularly from a services
point of view if the project had been undertaken as just
1 building contract it would also have been able to be
built even quicker.
Good working
relationships between client, consultants and
contractors is key to the success of a project.
No.1 ROYAL CRESENT reOPENs on FRIDAY 21 JUNE
with theatrical ceremony
10.00 – 11.00AM
The renovation project at Bath’s iconic Georgian
townhouse museum at No.1 Royal Crescent is completed and
the house will reopen to the public at 11.00am on Friday
21 June, after an Opening Ceremony which commences at
10.00am. The project included the purchase and
restoration of the original servants’ wing at No.1A and
its reconnection to the main house.
Expect some theatrics as the new-style museum opens to
reveal more than double the original amount of dressed
rooms, plus original corridors, coalholes, servants’
stairs and scullery. Food writer and broadcaster
Mary Berry will officially open the museum, in
front of an assembly of people who have contributed to
the restoration project. VIP guests will include Tom
Wills-Sandford and his daughter Caroline Sandford-Anderson,
who are direct descendants of the original resident of
the house (retired Irish MP Mr Henry Sandford); Bath
philanthropist and businessman Andrew Brownsword who has
so generously bought and paid for the restoration of
No.1A; and Simon Timms, Chair of the Heritage Lottery
Fund South West Committee which provided a significant
grant of £1.4million towards the £5million project.
Also present as a guest of honour will be
The Hon Elizabeth Cayzer, niece of Bernard Cayzer who
acquired No.1 and gave it to the Trust in 1968,
providing funds for its restoration by the Trust. No.1A,
the original domestic wing, was ‘separated’ from the
main house at this time. She has continued her uncle’s
legacy with very generous donations having been made
from her charitable trust.
The
Rt Hon Don Foster MP will attend the ceremony, alongside
the new Mayor of Bath and new Chairman of B&NES Council,
plus fellow dignitaries and supporters. Costumed actors
will participate, the Bath City Waits will perform C18th
music and children from nearby St Andrew’s Primary
School, who enjoy a special education partnership with
the museum, will line the railings dressed as servants
and gentry. Media interest in filming the outdoor
ceremony has been high.
Edward Bayntun-Coward, Chairman of the Trustees of Bath
Preservation Trust, says:
“Residents and visitors to Bath have witnessed an eight
month period of closure and some intense renovation
works taking place to both buildings, but reopening to
the public is actually the culmination of a six-year
project of vision and determination. We are very proud
of how the original house has been authentically
restored to reflect exactly how it would have been
during its first 20 years of occupancy - 1776–1796 -
based on the exciting discovery of original descriptions
and evidence.”
Simon Timms, Chair of the Heritage Lottery Fund South
West Committee, says:
“The Royal Crescent is one of the greatest examples of
Georgian architecture to be found in the United Kingdom
and we at the Heritage Lottery Fund are delighted see it
fully restored and open to the public once again.
Through reuniting the buildings at No.1 and No.1A the
Royal Crescent, and creating new learning and visitor
spaces, people from near and far can now fully explore
and appreciate all aspects of the social history of the
house, reflecting the wider history of Bath.”
Visitors will be able to see all for themselves when the
doors open at 11.00am. The opening exhibition in the
Andrew Brownsword Gallery (admission is included in the
entry price) will reveal the history of No.1 since its
construction and details of some of its more prominent
residents.
