SPASE Design

The stunning Grade I listed Sherborne House in Newland, Dorset, has been removed from our #HeritageAtRisk register. 🥳 Built in 1720 for Henry Seymour Portman, the building features a striking grand stairwell with murals painted by James Thornhill, the same artist who painted the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral. It was used as a school from 1932 to 1992 before falling into disrepair. Thanks to a careful restoration project led by SPASE Design, the building now functions as an arts venue, The Sherborne, with a sensitively designed extension that supports its new use. 📷 Brett Charles Photography.

🏆The winner of The Georgian Group Architectural Award for The Restoration of a Georgian Building in an Urban Setting: Sherborne House🏆 Sherborne House, Grade I, dates from c.1720 when the principal block was constructed for Henry Seymour Portman to a design attributed to Benjamin Bastard. It was built onto an existing Tudor wing with an earlier Medieval core. For more than 130 years the house was occupied by tenants and subsequently Lord Digby’s School for Girls. Following its closure in 1992, the building was put on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk register. Successive schemes proposing use as an arts centre failed to attract funding, and conservation works that were to have been funded by enabling development never transpired. In 2018 it was bought by the present owners, and a rescue scheme developed by Spase Architects & Surveyors, with a brief to balance restoration of the building with its use to advance public education in the arts. Exterior walls, historic panelling, and chimneypieces have been repaired, inappropriate paints removed and new decorative finishes introduced. Central has been the conservation of Sir James Thornhill’s c.1726 decorative scheme for the staircase. Insulation has been sensitively introduced where possible to enhance the building’s thermal performance, and air source heat pumps, mechanical ventilation and heat recovery installed to reduce the scheme’s carbon footprint. Architect: SPASE Design #georgiangroup #georgiangroupawards

#JCTCONTRACTS Case Study: The Sherborne, Dorset A derelict Georgian mansion has been rescued with a full period-correct restoration and the addition of a new glulam-timber extension to provide Dorset with a new arts venue. The project used a JCT Standard Building Contract. Sherborne House in Dorset is a Grade I listed building which features Georgian, Tudor, and medieval elements. The main structure is an early Georgian mansion which has been attributed to local architect and craftsman Benjamin Bastard. Its principal staircase features an original mural depicting hunting scenes completed in the 1720s by Dorset-born artist James Thornhill, who is best known for the paintings inside the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral. In 2018 the building was purchased by the Sherborne House Trust – an independent charitable trust set up to restore the building, preserve the Thornhill mural, and create a centre to widen participation in, and accessibility to, the arts. With a mix of conservation, restoration, new-build, and some complex technical construction, involving a variety of specialist disciplines, a project of this nature requires a contract capable of capturing complex requirements and making sure the responsibilities of all parties is clear. Read more by visiting our website; the link is in the comments below. #jct #contract #restoration #rebuild #listedbuilding #construciton

In support of Dorset Climate Action Network/ Dorset Greener Homes, we’re opening our home as part of the open days. If you’re interested in learning about building to Passivhaus standards contact through this website link. Passivhaus Trust SPASE Design #passivhaus #openhouse #Dorsetgreenhomes