Issue 42 summer 24 web - Flipbook - Page 85
“Externally we replaced defective stones and repointed
where necessary, in line with a once-in-a-generation
restoration, but we have purposefully avoided stone
cleaning or wholesale repointing to keep the patina of age
and softness of the historic materials. Internally we have
recreated the original Georgian panelled finish with
accurate skirtings, dados, architraves, cornice and
pediments,” says Proudfoot.
The failed plaster from the internal walls has been
removed and replaced with matching three-coat lime
plaster and the original stone flags from the floor have
been carefully recorded, lifted and re-laid in their original
positions on the new limecrete slab with underfloor heating fed from a ground source heat pump. The result is a
very accurate recreation of the Camellia Room, reusing
the original floor and recreating the original specification
to the walls and roof. In the earliest part of the building,
Lady Rockingham’s Tea Room, a small sample of the
checkerboard stone floor was left in the corner of the
building, which provided a reference for the recreation of
the original floor. Similarly, the jib doors to the supporting
wings of the current Tea Room have also been meticulously recreated.
Above, Camellia House - interior -photo credit Adrian Lambert
The team has also introduced the required services for
both water and electricity. In addition to the ground
source heat pump and rainwater harvesting, environmental measures include limecrete slabs throughout (rather
than concrete), natural ventilation via the sash windows
and roof vents, as well as breathable wood fibre insulation
Above, Camellia House before works photo credit
Damian Griffiths
Above, ASWS work on the North
London mansion
Above, Camellia House exterior - photo credit Damian Griffiths
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