Renovation or restoration

Taking a house back to its original condition can cost a considerable amount of time and money. The end result may be a gratifying and beautiful homage to traditions past, but could modern methods and materials achieved a better result and if so, should period home owners look to the future when renovating their home or stick with restoring the past.

Over the next few weeks we’re going to consider all kinds of aspects from architecture to interior decor, discover some of the traditional and contemporary options available and look at the external factors that may influence the decision such as listed building status. For those used to period living many of the requirements come as second nature, but to new owners of period homes the advice can be a little daunting as Dawn Carritt of Jackson-Stops & Staff reveals, “English Heritage often request any extension to a listed building should use modern materials and not copy the old so that it remains clear what is original and what is not, even when dealing with a Grade I Listed Building. On the other hand repair should be as close of the original as possible – nothing if not confusing to a new owner.”

It's worth pointing out that not all modern materials are necessarily harmful to an older property, though they might be as our surveyor put it of “questionable taste”. In fact in our house it’s not the PVC windows with electric shutters (installed by the previous owner I hasten to add), that has damaged the stonework, but the metal pins installed years ago that used to hold the hinges for the wooden shutters. Employing skilled tradesmen that understand the materials required for a job is crucial.

“Many builders are no longer trained to understand the different building techniques used on period properties,” says James Mott, Founder of Project Book. “According to the Wedgewood Markham Survey undertaken in 1995, an estimated 70% of heritage building and maintenance work is undertaken by unskilled practitioners, often with irreversible damage to the property they are ‘repairing’ or extending.”

One of the other downsides to renovating as opposed to restoration is that historical detail can easily be lost, either because the significance is missed or because it is ignored in favour of the main plan. However, for many lovers of older houses part of the charm is discovering their past and even the smallest detail can reveal a piece of history. Take for instance Malplaquet House in the East End of London. Built in 1741, the property narrowly escaped destruction during World War II when bombing destroyed or damaged its neighbours.

Until twelve years ago this fine eighteenth-century house lurked behind a row of shabby shops selling printing equipment and typewriter repairs. Destined for demolition it was rescued by the Spitalfields Historic Buildings Trust and sold to the house’s current owners. The distinctive doorcase (shown in the picture) is the original, found entombed behind the shop fronts and now restored to its former glory. The front door is from an early nineteenth-century house in Percy Circus, Pentonville, with cast-iron bosses, and ‘Waterloo’ and ‘Nile’ doorknockers added. The fanlight, a copy of one on a house in Kew Green, was made by the late John Sambrook.

“A sympathetic and understanding approach to the preservation of historic and listed homes is vital to ensure their survival for the benefit of future generations,” says Helen Moore of City & Country Group. “However, simply preserving a period property as a pastiche of the past isn’t going to add anything to the evolution of that property over time. History is an ever-evolving thing, and adding your own layer of history to a property can enhance it and attach new interest.”

The philosophy adopted for the restoration of Malplaquet House was to restore the house to its form in about 1800, whilst taking care not to obliterate later changes and alterations. Thus, the faded paintwork on the battered old panelling has been carefully preserved unaltered, while the old floorboards have been allowed to retain their uneven character. However, in the already much-altered western Drawing Room the owners took the opportunity to install a magnificently idiosyncratic chimneypiece overmantel, which might be more at home in a Baroque palace in Prague or Palermo than the East End.

Whichever route you decide to take James Mott has a final piece of guidance , “Good professional advice is the key to a successful project and will save owners time, frustration and money. A knowledgeable consultant will be able to advice on complex issues associated with older buildings, obtain the necessary consents and can assist with finding the right people with the relevant skills needed for the project. Before engaging any consultant, owners should make sure they are experienced with buildings of the period and share the same conservation/restoration approach.”

Malplaquet House is for sale by private treaty contact Jackson-Stops & Staff for details.