Hertes of England
historic buildings consultancy
  • Elements
  • Materials
    • Stone
    • Brick
  • Journal
  • Regions
  • Projects

One only has to travel over the mountains and moors of Lancashire, Yorkshire and Derbyshire to see and feel how well the way of building was adapted to local conditions. The mountains are grand and solitary; while below, the wild loveliness of romantic dales, watered by fast-flowing rivers and streams, is ever alluring. The stone crops out from the mountain sides in huge, craggy masses, and the buildings, of like material, form an integral part of landscape.”

Sidney R. Jones

← Carole Ryan
Joseph Pickford’s Ashbourne Villas →

About

Welcome to the Hertes of England historic building resource. We specialise in exploring the traditional buildings and vernacular architecture of the English Midlands. From timber-frame cottages to Victorian town houses and factories, we investigate a range of historic buildings and the skills, techniques and crafts that were used to create them.

Tags

Anglo Saxon Architecture Birmingham Black Country Derbyshire East Midlands English Midlands Georgian Gothic Henry Issac Stevens History Industrial Revolution Joseph Pickford Kingdom of Mercia Knowledge Leicestershire Lincolnshire Lunar Society Medieval Midlands Nottinghamshire R. W. Brunskill Romantic Staffordshire Vernacular Victorian Warwickshire World Heritage Site

Journal

  • John Speed "Therein groweth a stone softer than Alablaster, but being burnt maketh a Plaister harder than..."

    John Speed

  • Sidney R. Jones "One only has to travel over the mountains and moors of Lancashire, Yorkshire and Derbyshire..."

    Sidney R. Jones

  • Carole Ryan "Vernacular building tradition is one based upon time-immeriorial building techniques and the use of materials,..."

    Carole Ryan

Instagram

During the course of our work we often see histori During the course of our work we often see historic buildings that we think we’ll surely find languishing on the Heritage at Risk register, and then, in some sense, we are disappointed to find that they are not, simply because it usually means that there is less than the required interest for them to even make that threshold! 

This example in Stoke-on-Trent is definitely one of those buildings. It spent most of its better days as the Duke of Bridgewater Inn, however, it was originally the home of a Master Potter (Davenport Pottery). There are a few buildings within its immediate vicinity that have already been formally identified as H@R (most notably the Price and Kensington Teapot Works), but are still struggling to find new leases of life, whilst the range of their conservation deficits continue to increase. Let’s just hope this one doesn’t end up suffering the same fate! It’s currently designated as Grade II. 

#heritage #conservation #historicbuildings #heritageatrisk #stokeontrent #thefabricofplaces
During the latter part of the 18th century and the During the latter part of the 18th century and the early decades of the 19th century, the dominance of an imported classism in English architecture began to wane. Outside of the large cities of the Midlands one can find a number of examples of architects designing buildings that appeared to show signs of the reemergence of the gothic as an architectural idiom, a trend which would eventually lead to the flourishing of the Gothic Revival style.

This former School House (1818) in the Staffordshire village of Penkridge is a very good example of this subtle experimentation that could often be perceived as untutored or clumsy. It was designed and built by the Lichfield based architect and builder, Joesph Potter, who was responsible for designing many buildings in and around the county of Staffordshire, including a number of churches. The facade is obviously symmetrical with other elements that one might expect to see in a classical Georgian structure of the period (shallow pitched roof etc.). However, the fenestration is predominantly gothic in style, although the doorcase is perhaps the most interesting element as it attempts to incorporate elements of both styles! 

Whatever the design intention and perceived clumsiness, these charming examples, that capture a moment when architects were exploring different idioms at a time of great change in the country, should be celebrated, as they demonstrate what was then a new found confidence in what could be achieved in English architecture. This example is currently designated as Grade II.

#heritage #conservation #historicbuildings #architecture #georgian #gothic #penkridge #staffordshire #thefabricofplaces
Yet more evidence of our growing obsession with la Yet more evidence of our growing obsession with late 17th and early 18th century dovecotes! Form, brick size and bond would probably put this one somewhere on the cusp. Their simple, pure, almost modern forms often belie their true purpose; not a machine for living as Le Corbusier might have said, but a machine for feeding!

#heritage #conservation #historicbuildings #architecture #dovecotes #brick #shropshire #thefabricofplaces
The Shropshire Union Canal was largely completed i The Shropshire Union Canal was largely completed in the mid 1830s and passed through the Midlands counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire. The Woodseaves cutting provided the engineer (Thomas Telford) with ample stone for the construction of various bridges and structures along this section. This bridge, No 57, as well as No 58 are two of the best examples and are both currently designated as Grade II.

#heritage #conservation #architecture #canals #shropshire #canalandrivertrust #thefabricofplaces
Very rarely do we pass through the city of Derby w Very rarely do we pass through the city of Derby without visiting at least one of the remaining works by one of the greatest iron smiths of the 18th century. Robert Bakewell of Derby is seen by many to represent the most distinctive break with what was then the dominant French style of Jean Tijou, who Bakewell was thought to have worked with at Hampton Court at the very beginning of his career.

During our most recent foray into the city, we managed to spend some time admiring his magnificent chancel screen at the Church of All Saints, now the city’s Cathedral. Redesigned by James Gibbs in the early 1720s and built by Francis Smith of Warwick, the new church could have been said to symbolise the emerging confidence of a town whose reputation for trade, commerce and culture was growing rapidly.

Bakewell regularly worked with the firm of Francis Smith and would later work with James Gibbs on his designs for the Radcliffe Camera in Oxford. However, in this instance, the finished work was elevated above that of a regular commission to a singular masterpiece, easily comparable to that of his much celebrated arbour at Melbourne Hall. Despite its greatness, the screen did fall into relatively poor condition during the 19th century, but was magnificently restored and adapted by Haslam in the early 1900s, to the composition and condition in which we see it today. 

It is perhaps the finest piece of 18th century decorative wrought iron work, in the English style, anywhere in England. Nikolaus Pevsner once remarked that it was ‘the most important possession in the Cathedral’, and when you stand in front of it, you can clearly see why.

#heritage #conservation #craftsman #ironwork #wroughtiron #cathedral #churches #derby #melbourne #derbyshire #oxford #thefabricofplaces
Unusual examples of the historic built environment Unusual examples of the historic built environment can often be found in the strangest of places. This late 17th century dovecote is situated at the heart of a 1970s housing estate on the outskirts of Wolverhampton. Originally part of a large farmstead, it is now the only remaining structure of an historic agricultural holding that was thought to date from the 13th century.

The farm was acquired in the 1860s by the then Wolverhampton Corporation, who developed the land to form part of the local sewage treatment works, which operated up until the mid 20th century. By the early 1960s, the Corporation had demolished most of the buildings on the site, including an early 17th century brick gatehouse. By the mid 1970s, the land had been largely cleared for the development of a new housing estate, but for some reason the dovecote was spared! 

It was restored in the 1980s and again more recently with the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund. It is perhaps one of the most unusual settings for a structure of its type, standing next to a former pub (now a church) and overlooked by a modern shopping precinct. We are guessing the locals don’t use it as intended, however, it should be greatly admired if only for escaping, relatively unscathed, from the demolition crazed 1970s! It is currently designated as Grade II.

#heritage #conservation #architecture #agriculture #dovecote #wolverhampton #westmidlands #nationallotteryheritagefund #thefabricofplaces
Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2022 Hertes of England.