44 C O N T E X T 1 3 0 : J U LY 2 0 1 3 revealed that graded chert pebbles had been thrown on to the wet binder then lightly pressed into the surface, giving an attractive, warm ‘pebblestone’ appearance. It was agreed that we could not begin the process of restoring buried pieces of mouldings to the correct places because of the dangerous condition of the structure. After much discussion with contractors and conservation engineers the Morton Partnership, we determined that the safest approach would be to secure the surviving concrete walls by stitching together all the cracks with stainless steel needles set in resin to create a stable box, and then to underpin the entire house.The precarious north-west corner was carefully cut away to allow re-casting a new section of wall using the nearest match to the original no-fines concrete, modern Lytag lightweight concrete. Missing window bays were cast in the same material, recovered pieces of window moulding Paul Latham is director of the Regeneration Practice. An early photograph of the garden The porch was reconstructed after 11 separate pieces were dug up from the garden. being fixed in their original places.These preliminary works allowed timber floors to be safely re-inserted and the roof repaired to tie the structure together. One section of the ruins we could piece together was the porch, which was recovered from buried remains in 11 separate pieces.The attractive fleur-de-lis clay ridge tiles were hand made to a special mould.The numerous stitch repairs dramatically illustrate the many fractures that were repaired. We treated these visual anomalies (which were due to previous structural trauma) as part of the story that the concrete house had to tell, and they were left only lightly patinated with sooty water so as not to completely hide our surgical efforts. Missing sections of moulded window surrounds were formed in situ replicating the original Portland cement:lime:silver sand mix by our specialists Rominar. One of the advantages of conserving a Victorian building is the survival of original catalogues and other archival material. An early 20th century photograph recorded the fashionable ‘aesthetic’ foliate design of front railings, no doubt included to curry favour with the supporters of Ruskin. We discovered the model in MacFarlane’s 19th castings catalogue, helpfully reprinted by Historic Scotland.The railings were reproduced in cast iron from a special mould. Repairs to the damaged gothic iron bell pull and missing door furniture followed Archibald Kenrick’s 1876 catalogue. The only evidence we had for the garden was an early photograph showing curving perimeter gravel paths and a central bed laid to lawn. This, together with the original name of the house, ‘The Ferns’ gave us a clue that Drake’s garden had followed William Robinson’s ‘Wild Garden’ concept, which was fashionable by 1870. The garden designer, Allen Scott Landscape Architecture, adopted the theme using plants and tree varieties introduced from the late 19th century.We mimicked the curving gravel pathways of a wild garden, avoiding the hard lines and municipal appearance of concrete curbs by using partially buried timber railway sleepers, cut and mitred into curves, to support reinforced gravel parking areas. In the process of bringing Drake’s ruined concrete house back to use, we have learnt and documented how Drake constructed his innovative show house.We joined with him in the thoroughly modern excitement of building using unusual techniques and materials, working within the established gothic style with ‘aesthetic’ embellishments, to sell to a sceptical 19th century architectural establishment. The finished project has demonstrated to us the driving force and influence of Charles Drake, a technological innovator working 50 years ahead of his time in a wholly modern material, concrete, in an era in which the architectural expression of material was still only a matter of historical style. The project has also provided an exemplar for conservation officers on what can be achieved by a cooperative approach using local authority compulsory purchase powers, working back-to-back with a building preservation trust, with an end sale to a local housing association.
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