ISG Jackson - Mixed-Use Development - Essex
Date: 11 Apr 2008
ISG Jackson Special Projects is part way through a historically important refurbishment scheme at the Grade II listed Loughton Hall in Essex. The circa £750K project sees the contractor carry out a comprehensive external refurbishment of the Queen Anne-style building for client Redrow Homes (Eastern) Ltd.
The original Loughton Hall was owned by Mary Tudor before she became queen of England in 1553 and played host to Queen Elizabeth I who visited the Hall on a number of occasions during her reign. The property became the centre of the influential Jacobean literary circle in the early seventeenth century and is believed to have housed a stone staircase designed by influential architect Inigo Jones. In 1836 the original building burnt down in a catastrophic fire and lay derelict until 1878 when the Hall was rebuilt by architect W Eden Nesfield for the Maitland family.
Requisitioned by the army during the Second World War as an officers' billet, Loughton Hall was eventually sold to the local council, and the Debden housing estate was built on much of the land. The Hall is now undergoing a full external restoration by ISG Jackson Special Projects to ensure the future survival of this important building.
The sensitive refurbishment of Loughton Hall is being overseen by English Heritage, with the contractor restoring and re-using existing materials from the building wherever possible. The main Hall, stable blocks and annexe buildings will be re-roofed, and all windows and doors will either be repaired or replaced. Heavily weathered areas of brickwork and stonework to the building's façade will also be replaced and repair work carried out to the Hall's chimneys. The intricately carved wooden front porch will undergo extensive restoration as part of the project.
Stuart Talbot, divisional director for ISG Jackson Special Projects, commented: "The company has built up an enviable track record for successfully delivering complex schemes, working alongside conservation bodies to ensure the future survival of historically important buildings. A highly skilled team of masons, joiners and roofing specialists are working methodically and sensitively on this challenging project to conserve this architectural treasure."
Refurbishment of the Grade II listed Loughton Hall forms part of a package of community benefits attached to Redrow's planning consent to build more than 250 new homes on a 10-acre site adjacent to Epping Forest College. Following restoration, Loughton Hall's future use is restricted by covenants and planning consents to either educational purposes or as a private nursing home. Other community benefits include major highway improvements in the area, traffic calming measures on Borders Lane, a new access point for the college's improved campus and 89 affordable properties for shared equity or rent via a local housing association.
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