The Victorians were a supremely confident bunch. Not for them the worries of heritage conservation or of ‘blending in’. They were exuberant and eclectic, reviving architectural styles to suit their whim and applying them liberally to their projects. They grazed voraciously from a buffet of turrets and terracotta, grottoes and gargoyles, palladio and pebble dash. They embraced idiosyncrasies, asymmetry and the picturesque. Breaking every rule in the architectural book, their built legacy comprises some of our best loved buildings.
So how best to update an edifice such as this? In this case, spurred on by our client, we decided to play Victorian. We have added new volumes in the spirit of the original, combining some formal symmetry with a liberal dose of irregularity. Relishing the detail is the key here, allowing new elements to vie with the original. Some of the new flourishes are being sourced from architectural salvage yards in order to foster the feeling of historic continuity.
The extended house will now comprise around 4,800 ft² and is currently on site.
Conservation Area
Planning Granted
