\u00a0<\/span> The building remained a private house until 1931, when it was leased (and later purchased) by Dorset County Council as the home of Lord Digby\u2019s School for Girls. It was not well-maintained during the school\u2019s tenure and, after the school moved out in 1992, it remained empty, becoming increasingly dilapidated and being placed on Historic England\u2019s Heritage at Risk register .<\/p>\n A developer bought the building in 2011 with plans to convert it into an arts centre and restaurant. The only part of this plan that was realised was the addition of a glazed steel stair tower before the building was put up for sale again, being subsequently purchased in 2018 by the Sherborne House Trust. This independent charitable trust was set up to restore and preserve Sherborne House and the Thornhill mural and to create a centre to widen participation and accessibility of the arts. Planning permission was granted in 2021.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span> The building, renamed The Sherborne, now has gallery spaces in both the historic rooms and new spaces, with a sculpture garden and external amphitheatre space for live performances at the back. It also accommodates a commercial offering of a bistro and restaurant, event spaces and a shop stocking local products, with profits supporting the arts programme.<\/p>\n The building\u2019s restoration included the careful repair of elements ranging from the external walls to the historic panelling, with inappropriate paint finishes removed, fireplaces restored and decorative finishes and detailing introduced based on historic research. Lime plasters were taken for laboratory analysis to ensure repairs were undertaken with the appropriate mixes.<\/p>\n As a result, Sherborne House has been removed from\u00a0the Heritage at Risk register.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span> This restoration was complemented by a new-build element comprising primarily a glazed glulam-timber structured pavilion with sculpted copper-clad concave roofs.\u00a0 The form of the roof is designed to contrast with the existing house and assist the flow of passive ventilation.<\/p>\n The extension has a sustainable spruce glulam frame and wood fibre insulation, while the environmental upgrade of the existing building has added insulation, where possible, to enhance its thermal performance. This includes both naturally breathable hemp in both the roofs and intermediate\/suspended timber floors, and recycled foamed glass insulation under new limecrete floor slabs. Air-source heat pumps have been introduced, alongside mechanical ventilation heat recovery. Photovoltaic panels are planned to be installed in a further phase.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span> The existing building, as we found it, despite having been made watertight, was both in need of serious restoration and structural repair. The works, therefore, naturally divided into three tranches: the structural repairs, the restoration, and the Thornhill staircase and mural.<\/p>\n For the structural repairs, we were lucky to have the benefit of Jon Avent and Iasonas Bakas from Mann Williams on the team. Their expert work to stabilise the floors, walls and ceilings of the various historic phases of the building, now secure it from peril for years to come in a discreet way that most visitors will never be able to fully appreciate. While this means the repairs are not intrusive it also means the work Jon and Iasonas have done will probably go unnoticed. But perhaps that is the hallmark of a truly talented conservation engineer.<\/p>\n The restoration of the existing buildings is perhaps best described as an odyssey. We have carefully researched repair techniques and painstakingly implemented them (while reacting to the clues the building has given us as we have worked with it) throughout the whole building. Georgian panelling has been repaired, timber doors have been exactly replicated to replace those missing, specialist decorators have created interior schemes based on a 1726 inventory, bespoke silks have been woven in Suffolk to historic designs and colourings, 100 per cent wool carpets have been woven in Yorkshire to designs selected to suit each individual room and the whole exterior of the building has been carefully repaired, selectively cleaned and hand-painted. This blends the original patchwork of stone, cement renders and our new lime renders to return the original drab building to its full glory. I suspect the majority of visitors won\u2019t really be able to tell how much we have done, and for us, that is the success of the project. It just feels like it people remember it, but just looking smarter and better maintained.<\/p>\n For the Thornhill staircase and mural, we invited back the team from IFACS who had worked on a previous restoration of the paintings. Their expert work has reinvigorated the murals and allowed the pleasure of allowing the construction team to view the work up close from the scaffold. With Sands and Randall restoring the joinery after ravages of failed decorative restorations, damage and woodworm, the whole Thornhill scheme is now much closer to that intended by James Thornhill when he completed the room in the late 1720s.<\/p>\n The project allows permanent public access to view this amazing Baroque decorative scheme for the first time since it was completed, and it was important to ensure that the space \u2018displayed\u2019 the artwork properly. Simon Dove from QODA Light has designed bespoke light fittings with candle temperature lighting, something which has to be seen at night to truly be appreciated. The expert team at Avena Carpets have slavishly replicated the scrolled border and its colour scheme as part of the carpet runner design to harmonise every element with each other. The results speak for themselves. \u00a0<\/span> It was clear the building could not be made viable without a significant extension, however the authorities were understandably concerned given the history of the site, and were keen to ensure the project as a whole would lead to the reuse and restoration of the Grade I-listed building. The footprint of the building has been more than doubled in size, and it was important to engage sensitively with Historic England.<\/p>\n The design is formed to allow the sensitive restoration of the Georgian, Tudor and Medieval buildings, while extending the structure to the north (rear) of the site with glazed single-storey structures that wrap around a central external courtyard, allowing the spaces to be separated. The courtyard allows the historic building to be fully interpreted and offers a separation between spaces that allows users of the new pavilion to appreciate the heritage with a prominent view through the glazed walling to the stone buildings. There is a great contrast between the old limestone buildings, and the crisp sweeping contemporary structures; but these are brought together with the complementary colours of the buff stone, the patinated copper roof and the natural spruce glulam.<\/p>\n After developing the design, we were supported by local glulam specialist Buckland Timber. Its team understood the design requirements and worked with us to achieve such a feat of glulam design. The requirements were not significant; one hip beam spans 17m and weighs 1.5 tonnes, while all roof beams were double-tapered with each one a unique form, assymmetric, and brought into columns which tapered to the ground. The design was testing but worthwhile, giving a great sense of awe and achievement, which is worthy of sitting alongside the listed building.<\/p>\n Throughout the new constructions, it has been a pleasure to work with local materials; a detail so important to create a building that sits humbly within a historic local landscape. We were fortunate to be able to work with Sherborne Stone for the supply of both Forest Marble and Sherborne Stones, while bricks were handmade and blended to suit the historic boundary walls in Swanage by Ibstock. Landscaping materials were further complemented by locally sourced Pennant stone, Blue Lias and Purbeck stone. Locally felled ash was used for the contemporary interior joinery by Benchmark. \u00a0<\/span> Start on site<\/strong> November 2021 On-site energy generation<\/strong> 0% (projected to be 30% in next phase of works due to Historic England\u2019s change of policy) The main structure is an early Georgian mansion attributed to local architect-craftsman Benjamin Bastard. It features a mural of hunting scenes up the principal staircase, completed in the late 1720s by Dorset-born artist James Thornhill. \u00a0 The building remained a private house until 1931, when it was leased (and later purchased) by Dorset County Council …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32845,"featured_media":742925,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[706],"tags":[1920,76658,3082,101073],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/05\/31174344\/Sherborne-House-021_Brett-Charles-Photography.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/05\/31175022\/Sherborne-House-116_Brett-Charles-Photography.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/06\/02134243\/Sherborne-House-062-Edit-2Brett-Charles-Photography.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/06\/02134205\/Sherborne-House-059_Brett-Charles-Photography.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nArchitect\u2019s view<\/h3>\n
\nIan Cardy, architect, SPASE<\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/05\/31174226\/Sherborne-House-001-EditBrett-Charles-Photography.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nStefan Pitman, managing director, SPASE\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/05\/31175822\/SH-AJ-GROUND-PLAN.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/div>\nProject data<\/h3>\n
\nCompletion date<\/strong> May 2024
\nGross internal floor area<\/strong> 2640m2<\/sup>, (existing: 1622.5m2<\/sup>, new: 1017.5m2<\/sup>)
\nForm of contract or procurement route<\/strong> Traditional procurement with JCT contract
\nConstruction cost<\/strong> Undisclosed
\nArchitect<\/strong> SPASE Architects + Surveyors
\nClient<\/strong> Sherborne House Trust 2018
\nStructural engineer<\/strong> Mann Williams
\nM&E consultant<\/strong> QODA
\nQuantity surveyor<\/strong>\u00a0PGP
\nLandscape consultant<\/strong> SPASE Architects + Surveyors
\nSoft landscaping<\/strong> Angela Morley
\nAcoustic consultant<\/strong> Sol Acoustics
\nPrincipal designer<\/strong> SPASE Architects + Surveyors
\nApproved building inspector<\/strong> LABC
\nMain contractor<\/strong> Stonewood Builders
\nCAD software used<\/strong> AutoCAD<\/p>\nEnvironmental performance data<\/h3>\n
\nAnnual mains water consumption<\/strong> Not supplied
\nAirtightness at 50pa<\/strong> 10m3<\/sup>\/h.m2<\/sup> (including connection to listed building)
\nHeating and hot water load<\/strong> 61 kwh\/m2<\/sup>\/yr
\nOverall area-weighted u-value<\/strong> 0.3 w\/m2<\/sup>k
\nDesign life<\/strong> 100+ years
\nEmbodied \/ whole-life carbon<\/strong> Not calculated
\n<\/sup>Annual CO2<\/sub> emissions<\/strong> 34.8 KgCO2<\/sub>eq\/m2<\/sup><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"