West Midlands
Worcestershire
Established in 2015 in Malvern Worcestershire Rock Davidson Associates [RDA] directed by Louisa Davidson is a consultancy providing professional and independent advice and heritage reports. RDA serve the Counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and The Cotswolds, South Shropshire, Warwickshire and Oxfordshire
We offer the following:-
BUILT HERITAGE ASSESSMENT TUDOR HOUSE MUSEUM GDII*, 38-42 FRIAR STREET WORCESTER WR1 2NA PLUS ADDENDUM
Location : WORCESTER CITY
CLIENT: WORCESTER HERITAGE AND AMENITY TRUST, REGISTERED CHARITY 1103730
RDA provided this Built Heritage Assessment and Level 2 Building Recording as part of a Heritage Lottery Funding grant for the 475 year old building. This was to aid in the interpretation for the Museum concerning the building historically and architecturally. Since the 1970s this building has been open to the public as a Museum. The extensive RDA reports found that Tudor House, No 38-42 Friar Street, had been a weavers/ merchants houses/a brew house, and the Cross Keys Tavern. In 1910 it was bought by Richard Cadbury [3rd son of the Richard Cadbury of the Cadbury Brothers chocolate factory in Bournville, Birmingham] and converted to use as a coffee house, bakery and meeting rooms. The building was then bought and run by Worcester City Council in the 1920s-1970s, and was used as a school clinic, along with education offices and dentist, and finally later in the 1970s, still in the ownership of the Council, the building was opened as a folk museum and the ‘Tudor House Museum’ as it is today.
The main buildings, especially cellars and attic rooms, yield high architectural evidence of the buildings earlier uses, along with a good evidential example of a 17th century ceiling on the first floor in the ‘Tudor Room’ that reflect the GDII* listed status. Many of the former outbuildings and gable wings were lost in the mid-twentieth Century, with the development of the 1960s multi-storey car park and the rear elevations reflect this as surviving remnants of former 16th century, 17th century gable wings. Much of the Yeates and Jones’s Architects 1910 -1913 new buildings, instructed by Richard Cadbury, were also lost to the car park development, but a toilet block and external staircase remain and is a reminder of this phase of the buildings evolution. It was during this time that the main building underwent a major internal reconfiguration, with changes to external fenestration and shop front, having been formally three dwellings, and later inclusion of no 38 as a fourth, was opened up as one building. Although complex undertaking to analyse architecturally, the changes to the buildings can still be read, as principally of three dwellings with attached building at 38, only one second floor staircase remains from the 17th century /18th century and the principal stairs constructed in 1910, via new evidence from RDA, serves the four former dwellings and was part of these major alterations. It was also during this time major alterations were undertaken to the two central stone chimney stacks to number 42, involving the construction of this principal staircase. A good set of architecturally significant and rare early 20th century radiators remain in most rooms to ground floor and first floor manufactured by the American Radiator Company, RDA sourced help from the CIBSE Heritage Group to identify these.
There are historical connections to the 17th century weavers in the form of the evidential inventories from the 17th century and historical sources of the many publicans who resided and worked at ‘The Cross Keys Tavern’ until 1909. More famously the buildings have connection to Richard Cadbury, 3rd son of the Richard Cadbury who, together with his brother George, founded the Cadbury Brothers chocolate factory in Bournville, Birmingham. Richard was a Quaker and member of the Temperance Movement, who sought to better the lives of the poorer people of Worcester in the early 20th century. Although his time in the ownership of 38-40 and 42 was short-lived, he and his architects, Yeates & Jones Architects of Worcester, undertook the most radical changes that 38-40 and 42 had seen in its history and evolution in 1910. There are further historical associations to when the building was used as a school clinic and dentist and education offices but not much historical illustrative or associated evidence of these past uses are evident. For over 50 years the building has been used as a community Museum, it is this use that has the most communal value.
Project - Historic building conservation, Building recording, Conservation planning, Historical research
Available on Ads Library Contractors page
https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/greylit/browse.cfm?unit=Rock%20Davidson%20Associates
https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/
HERITAGE ASSESSMENT FOLEY HOUSE GDII 28, WORCESTER ROAD MALVERN WR14 4QW
Location : Malvern, Worcestershire
Client: Private
RDA provided an independent Heritage Assessment and Level 2 Building Recording for Foley House, a redundant GDII listed Regency Villa, in order that the planning consultant and client could find the best solutions to divide the building into apartments taking into account any significant features to be retained and analyse the original plan layout. This report was included in the planning application and permission was granted with a later further inspection by RDA of an upper staircase that was proposed to be removed. It is now being retained due to RDA findings that indeed it was part of the original Regency building. Interestingly RDAs research discovered the building was used as a Marionette Theatre and had associations with the Malvern Festival in the 1930s and 40s.
Project - Historic building conservation, Building recording, Conservation planning, Historical research
Available on Ads Library Contractors page
https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/greylit/browse.cfm?unit=Rock%20Davidson%20Associates https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk Planning Reference 19/01010/LB
https://plan.malvernhills.gov.uk/plandisp.aspx?recno=79787
HERITAGE ASSESSMENT OF THE NORTH ARMS GDII , MILLS LN, WROXTON, BANBURY OX15 6PY
Location : Wroxton Oxfordshire
Client: Private
The North Arms and separately listed Stable outbuilding are important architecturally and historically, with the associations with the North family of Wroxton Abbey. The North Arms is a prominent building in the village and makes an important contribution to its setting. The public house has original features from at least the 18th century, including three possible raised cruck trusses. RDA provided a Heritage Assessment and Level 2 Building recording that informed designs and layout changes to this redundant public house in order that it could be reconfigured as a restaurant on the first floor with a public house on the ground floor together with conversion of the separately listed stables. RDA then provided a detailed Heritage Impact Assessment analysing the proposed changes and proposed materials, offering suggestions and advice that helped inform the client, and Cherwell District Council Conservation Officer. After satisfactory changes to some of the design and advice on materials suggested by RDA the LPA granted permission.
Project - Historic building conservation, Building recording, Conservation planning, Historical research
Available on Ads Library Contractors page
https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/greylit/browse.cfm?unit=Rock%20Davidson%20Associates
Planning reference
https://planningregister.cherwell.gov.uk/Planning/Display/19/01149/LB
Name: Louisa Davidson
Job title: Director
Tel: 01684 568322
Historic Building conservation YES
Conservation planning YES
Architectural design and new build in historic areas
Historical research YES
Historic area assessments YES
Project Management
Archaeology [Standing Building Recording] YES
Other