Project is nominated for award

A prime development in Ludlow town centre, which took a specialist restoration team four years to painstakingly complete, has been nominated for a conservation award.

Project manager Peter Bradburn and his team of three traditionally-skilled craftsmen have done a fantastic job at 9 Raven Lane and 1-5 Pelican Court.

The development in-volved bringing an existing timber-framed Listed building back to its former glory, as well as a second original timber-framed building, plus building three new timber-framed homes and one new Georgian-style home.

All the new builds have been cleverly-designed to be in keeping with the area.

The site originally comprised numbers 9, 10 and 11 Raven Lane, and some other buildings which needed to be demolished - the whole formerly a funeral directors. Work began in 2005.

Peter said: "Number 9 was described as dangerous and we had to scaffold it."

Number 11 Raven Lane was a stone-built building, which was set on fire as work was ongoing and so was lost. Number 10 Raven Lane, original timber framed, is now known as number 5 Pelican Court.

Run down

The properties had been bought by a private owner in around 1998.

Peter said: "An architect had done a design in 2000 or 2001, but it hadn't been translated into work. It was looking run down.

"We had to make number 9 safe. Basically we had to take the weight off the building, the roof was removed and we pulled the front wall and side wall in by about 18 inches, more to the vertical.

"We built the whole top storey of number 9 with a new roof and replaced timbers. It is now fully renovated."

Although a lot of the wattle and daub walls had been removed from number 9, Peter and his men managed to save one of them.

Impressive

A lot of lime was used in the work and what is particularly impressive is the fact that Peter and his team made the most of the materials for the properties on site.

"Those included handmade bricks, clay tiles and external doors, windows, floorboards and skirtings from locally-sourced oak, including reclaimed oak floorboards from the owner's estate.

"They also used locally-forged ironwork and the team made the oak kitchens themselves.

Asking Peter if work on the new build properties was any easier, he said: "Not really, because we had to fit traditional buildings around modern building regs."

Historic aspect

It was important that the new properties had an "historic aspect" to be "in keeping" with the large number of 16th and 17th Century, and some medieval homes common to the town centre.

Another important factor was that three of the new builds were to be timber framed, while the last new one (Georgian-style) was in brick.

The properties all have seating areas, parking spaces (number 9 has a garage), gas central heating with condenser boilers and even individual bin stores with oak doors and proper ironmongery.

Shropshire Council's historic environment manager, Colin Richards, was very much involved with the project.

Award

He said the development had been nominated for a 2009 Ludlow Conservation Award by members of the public as well as some of those on the committee "because it is widely regarded as being very special".

He said it was the attention to detail in creating the development, as well as how it had enhanced that little corner of Ludlow, that had caught people's attention.

He said: "It has been built in such a way that it has promoted traditional materials and is an example of how today's building restorers can match the quality of work carried out over many centuries in Ludlow. And they have done it to such a high standard."

Tribute

Colin said that Peter Bradburn had played a pivotal role in the work. He also paid tribute to the owner for having recognised the commitment and skills of his employees by having their heads carved on the exterior woodwork of number 9.

He explained that these were called "corbels" and in medieval times builders decorated properties with grotesque figures as people were afraid of dragons and demons.

Colin said: "Whether these will repel evil spirits, only time will tell."

Peter Bradburn is shortly to retire after 25 years in the restoration/building industry. He views 9 Raven Lane and 1-5 Pelican Lane as his "swansong".

The properties, all wired for satellite TV, are being let by Farlow Estates of Ludlow, although number 2 Pelican Court is already let.

• Number 9 Raven Lane has a living room, kitchen, garden room, utility/study, cloakroom, four double bedrooms, two bathrooms and a single garage, at £1,200pcm.

• Number 1 Pelican Court has a living room, kitchen/diner, cloakroom, master bedroom with en suite dressing area and bathroom, two double bedrooms (one with balcony), bathroom, private courtyard and parking space, at £1,150pcm.

• Number 3 Pelican Court has an entrance hall, cloakroom, open-plan living room and kitchen, master bedroom with en suite bathroom, two further double bedrooms and a bathroom, large courtyard and a parking space, at £1,050pcm.

• Number 4 Pelican Court (Georgian-style) has an entrance hall, cloakroom, living room, kitchen/diner, utility room, master double bedroom with en suite bathroom, two further double bedrooms and a bathroom and parking space, at £995pcm.

• Number 5 Pelican Court has a living room with spiral staircase down to a kitchen/diner, boiler room, small courtyard, master bedroom with fitted wardrobes and en suite bathroom, two further double bedrooms and bathroom and a parking space, at £1,050pcm.

Further details from Farlow Estates, 5 High Street, Ludlow, Tel: 01584 876333 or visit www.farlowestates.com