Gainsborough Kitchens Heritage Asset Statement

Transcription

1 Gainsborough Kitchens Heritage Asset Statement Gainsborough Kitchens 1 Spital Terrace, Gainsborough DN21 2HD & Gainsborough Kitchen Fitters 3 Spital Terrace DN21 2HD (Urbano Fitted Bedrooms)

2 Gainsborough Kitchens is positioned at the entrance to Spital Terrace and is on the busy junction of Spital Terrace and North Street at the start of the Conservation Area. The current façade is in need of repair and does nothing to reflect the special nature of a conservation area. Our proposal will significantly enhance this important corner of the town and highlight the approach to Spital Terrace in a manner which we believe will benefit the street, the conservation area and the town as a whole. In putting this proposal together we have worked in consultation with the Planning Office and the Gainsborough Town Partnership. We believe that a project in a conservation area should be done with respect to the many styles and characters of buildings in the area and should use traditional methods and materials where possible. It should demonstrate a style that reflects its age and retains or enhances its original features, but it should also have its own character and will therefore also be fit for purpose for many years to come.

3 The current shop fronts are shown above and the new proposed fronts below

4 Design Objectives To enhance the shop frontages using natural methods and materials To replace the obtrusive manual metal grills with a smarter and safer more discrete alternative To sensitively reflect the nature of this Heritage Area of Gainsborough and restore some of the traditional style and detail as befits the ethos of a conservation area To attract people to Spital Terrace as a secondary shopping area and to add to the traditional character and style of Gainsborough as a whole

5 The Details

6 Shops in conservation and heritage areas often have similar original features. There are many examples of frontages with timber signs with vertical columns and corbels which intersect them and with cladding below. Some examples are shown here, some more modern than others and not all done with the correct methods and materials, but all show the sorts of areas that we think should be clad.

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8 Hard to see on the flat front view but these verticals will be boxed out pillars and corbels that raise through either end of the main sign The profile of the pilasters and corbels looks like this. The main depth of the pilaster would be around 10cm 12cm which also hides the shutter runners. The shutter box is shown as a square inside the main top corbel which is sloped and then squared off again at the top. The cream diagonal line is the line of the main horizontal sign. This is being angled down in the traditional manner of old shop fronts. Arguably this was done so people could read the signs easily from below without stepping out into the path of oncoming horses! The cladding below the windows will be flat to the wall. The render under these will be chipped off so the wall can breathe. These boards will be plain with a panel effect painted on with a thin key line in the contrast colour.

9 The pilasters and corbels have been reduced in width for 1 Spital Terrace following consultation and research which we believe more accurately reflects the traditional look. We have deliberately left some exposed render between the left and right pilasters and the windows on this property which we think is likely how this size of shop would have looked. We have added a subtle painted effect reflection of our crest in the panels of these pilasters. This will be painted on medite exterior board.

10 The pilasters and corbels for 3 Spital Terrace are of a similar profile, again hiding the mechanism and tracks of the replacement shutters. They will be much thinner in width and moved in from the sides of the building leaving the exposed render external to the pilasters and not internal to them. This is in part to differentiate between the two buildings and partly to accommodate the recently introduced lamp post between the two shops. There will be a painted insert to the pilaster, again a subtle reflection of the logo but different to that on number 1 Spital Terrace. Although for planning purposes we are using the same profile to demonstrate these pilasters, they will be formed and manufactured on site and in position, in harmony with the building. Small differences between the profiles between the two shops are therefore likely and to be encouraged!

11 Any pictures or crests have been removed from the main signs across the front of the buildings to keep the areas looking clear and uncluttered. Two further smaller signs have been added above the main areas. These logos will be hand painted on medite in more muted versions of the normal logo colours. The GK logo to the left covers a small window on a disused part of the shop. In order that this logo is not seen as too large we have used a medite backboard in the same painted finish as the walls meaning the logo can be smaller but still cover the disused window. NB The window will be retained and not blocked in if at some point someone wishes to restore it.

12 The main signs slope at a slight downward angle. The letters themselves are hand carved from medite with a 45 degree bevelled angle all round and will be covered in gold leaf for 1 Spital Terrace and painted white for number 3 Spital Terrace. Sample letters are shown below.

13 Trough lighting is used across the main signs and above the GK crest. This presents less of a target for vandals and has a subtler look.

14 The sign to the right of the windows covers the area where a door once was. There is evidence that this door either wasn t the original door, or that the building at number 3 was once two shops as there is still a boarded over door to the side road (Drill Hall Lane). Either way the door to the front was blocked up before the area became a conservation area and the space would look odd left blank so a separate sign seems appropriate. This would be painted on medite and permanent with no PVC pictures or lettering.

15 Windows The ground floor windows at number 1 are original wood and will be filled and painted only. The top 2 windows (shown) and the main window at number 3 are relatively new white PVC. The longer term aim would be to change these for either timber or aluminium however this may not be financially viable at this stage. We propose to paint over the PVC in a colour to match / compliment the wall colour. In the case of the two windows above this will be about two shades darker than the paint of the wall and it will be black on the bedroom shop front to match the signage. The painting is achieved by roughing up the PVC with carrot paper and then painting using a mixture of signwriting enamels and cellulose thinner bonds.

16 Colours The exact mix of colour will be done on site and tested prior to the full paint going on as colours can only really be judged when seen on the actual material to which they are being applied in a real world situation. The target colours are as below Both could be classed as Heritage colours and are darker and more subdued colours picked after consultation and research.

17 This is the current frontage of both 1 and 3 Spital Terrace. There are metal grills in place over all the windows and door. During the day the grills are removed and chained to the front walls as below. Although this has been done this way for nearly 20 years to our knowledge (and almost certainly much longer than that) it does present certain problems. There are health and safety issues over the weight and position of them. They do not look good during the day and take up room on the pavement. There are also issues with dogs urinating on them and our subsequent handling of them, etc. The answer is to replace them with electric roller grills. It isn t practical for these to be on the inside of the windows. Apart from the fact it wouldn t protect against vandalism, the stepped shape of the windows and inset door makes it impossible for anything to be fitted successfully on the inside.

18 The sort of shutters we would use are able to be seen through with sufficient back lighting in the shop. They would be perforated with a black coating so as to be as unobtrusive as possible. This would be a significant improvement on the current metal grills which stand out both when in use and when stacked during the day. All the mechanism for the shutters would be concealed within the pilasters and the sign boxing which would stick out less than the current box section. Each shop will be spanned in a single shutter so there would be no need for extra metal posts. The effect would be like this

19 About the Team When approaching a project where traditional methods, materials and skills are required nothing is more important than the people who actually do the work. We are delighted to be working alongside one of the leading craftsmen and artists in the country for this project, the award winning Paul Rafferty. Through his company Ivy Designs Paul s work with traditional methods are world renowned. Some examples are shown below More at

20 Summary Our proposal is for a scheme of work of the highest quality. Craftsmen using traditional methods and materials will take two tired and non-descript shop fronts and transform them with smart and impressive exteriors that will not only reflect the heritage of the area but will look to the future by enhancing the Spital Terrace conservation area and, we hope, lead to other buildings around improving their own frontages. Frontages that have their own character, distinct from those around it but respectful of the history of the area and harmonising with our local styles and local ways of doing things. No plastic No vinyl. Timber, paint and traditional skills. We hope you approve! If you require any clarification of our proposal or details of the methods we will use please contact me on / alex@gainsboroughkitchens.co.uk Alex Jenman

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