Conservation

Mole Cottage is a Grade 11 listed timber-framed cottage dating from 1645, with much of the original framing still visible internally. The original 3 bay cottage is end-on to the street, with a later Victorian half-bay added to the street end of the cottage. The timber frame was gentrified with an outer brick skin, which in turn was rendered, probably in the 19th century.

The house was extended and significantly altered in the 1980’s, with some typically inappropriate details and materials including a sun room 1st floor rear conservatory, concrete roof tiles and an unsympathetic extension to the front elevation.

The internal circulation had evolved in a very haphazard way as the building has been extended. When we were appointed, the entrance was on west side of the house, with convoluted routes to get from the front door to the kitchen via several other rooms.

Having analysed the history and evolution of the house we developed a strategy to remove the unsympathetic front and rear extensions and replace these with a gabled wing that ran from front to back. This created a simple 3 bay design to the front and rear elevations. We repositioned the front door to the centre of the front elevation, and internally we designed a double-height galleried hallway at the centre of the house.

The works have restored and sympathetically extended a significant Listed Building in the centre of Cobham, enhanced the historic features of the house, and removed inappropriate alterations from the 1980s.

The Orangery is all that remains of a large historic country estate in Englefield Green. This Grade 11 listed building dates from the late 18th century and was in danger of collapse when we were appointed. Significant elements of the external Roman Cement render and mouldings had delaminated from the brick core, the 20th century glazed roof had collapsed, trees were growing inside the building, the front elevation was leaning outwards, and the central pediment was ‘live’.

The repair works involved stripping all the render and lime plaster and allowing the building to dry out, then inserting a steel ring beam at high level to tie the front elevation and pediment  back to the main body of the Orangery. The building was then re-rendered in lime render with a mineral paint finish, and the cornice was reinstated using a combination of running the mouldings using a moulding die, and taking casts of the triglyphs.

Roman Cement was used for a relatively short period in the late 18th and early to mid 19th centuries for rendering brickwork. It is a lime-based material that is very hard, and was later used in the 19th century for tunnel linings due to its quick setting and exceptional waterproofing properties.