NEW BUILD LUXURY WITH VICTORIAN CHARM

Have you ever looked at the beautiful period features of a Victorian property, but wished you could combine it with a modern energy efficient home? Well, that’s now a reality in Wandsworth, London. Our expertise has helped a builder and property developer to recreate a row of new houses to match the existing Victorian street. Here’s the story of how we worked on a project to rebuild a row of houses bombed in the Blitz. BOMBED During the Second World War the German Luftwaffe dropped 27,917 bombs on London. 738 of these were dropped in Wandsworth. The majority of those fell during 57 consecutive nights when bombs rained down on London for the worst of the Blitz. Throughout the war 1.2 million houses were destroyed in London alone. This left gaping spaces in regular residential streets, as well as changing the architectural landscape of the Southbank and large areas of London which are still visible today. A row of houses destroyed by a bomb during The Blitz. A MISMATCHED STREET One street in Wandworth suffered a similar fate, like so many others in London. The end of a row of Victorian terraced houses was destroyed by a German bomb. These homes were replaced with a pair of 1950s semi detached buildings. Although they provided housing for families they were made quickly and cheaply in the post war world where resources were stretched. The original Victorian features were lost but the whole country had enough worries without fretting about lost architecture. The houses were functional and practical and stood at the end of the street for decades. The bombed terrace was replaced with a pair of prefab semis. MATCHING THE NEIGHBOURHOOD Many decades later, the two buildings were sold and planning permission was obtained to re-build the original lost terraced houses. We were asked to use our expertise to re-create the stone detailing around the doors and windows. The neighbouring buildings featured a detailed floral and leaf pattern in the stone work. This beautiful pattern is repeated across the headers above the windows and is a key feature on the lintels below the doorway arches on each property in the street. The neighbours kindly allowed us to take an impression of their stone work so our master crafts people could recreate the matching stone work in our workshop. All our work is hand crafted to we can create those fine details that really make the exterior of your property stand out. The neighbours allowed us access to their exteriors to create replica stoneswork for the new build houses so they matched the existing properties in the street. Distinctive Victorian stonework around the windows was recreated from the existing properties. REDEVELOPMENT The new homes looked smart, restoring the street to it’s former glory, replicating how the properties would have originally looked from the outside. We made cast stone gate pier caps and coping to support elegant gates and railings. Many Victorian railings across the UK were melted down in the 1940s to help the war effort, but the builder wanted to remain true to the period details for these new houses. The paths were even tiled in the traditional black and white tiles synonymous with Victorian styling. The inside of the homes however, are packed with the best of twenty-first century design. Each home is energy efficient and designed with all comforts of modern living, with en suite bathrooms, sleek kitchens and landscaped gardens for alfresco entertaining. Handcrafted pier caps and stone wall coping create a Victorian style entrance. A beautiful archway in keeping with the original Victorian properties in the area and an exact match to the rest of the street. Stylish neighbours with matching entrances of handmade bespoke restoration stonework. BESPOKE IS OUR SPECIALTY We have made bespoke architectural stone, from porticos to window surrounds and more for many home owners, house developers, architects and builders over the decades. Our experience extends from making character features in new builds, blending extensions into period properties and restoring damaged stonework. We supply free CAD drawings so please call our team and we will be happy to help you with your building project Bespoke lintel in our workshop in Kent This was a really dynamic project to be involved in. If you are interested in these houses you can find more information here. Or why not create a building project of your own? All our stonework is made by hand in our workshop in Kent. DON’T FORGET THE GARDENS While it is important to create a smart entrance to your property, don’t forget the rest of your outside space. Once you have moved into your newly built or extended home our planters, urns and even a well placed fountains can transform your front garden (and back garden or grounds) into something extraordinary! Add planted urns as finials to your gate pier caps or on a pedestal in your garden to create a beautiful feature. We are currently open by appointment and our phone lines are open 7 days a week so please get in touch.

For more information on NEW BUILD LUXURY WITH VICTORIAN CHARM talk to Chilstone Architectural Stone & Garden Ornaments