UK House Hunters Looking For Period Features

A recent survey has revealed that a fifth of UK homebuyers are seeking out properties with ‘originality’, and quirky characters and period features are now a must-have.

The Sun reports that the survey of 2,000 people in the UK aged between 25 and 65-years-old, and currently on the hunt for a new home, found that 12 per cent of respondents are looking out for untraditional properties with unique offerings, such as stables, churches, and even windmills.

Ten per cent of respondents want a concealed room or a herb garden, or a home with a sizeable basement. A further 17 per cent are looking for a garden office room. A total of 58 per cent of homebuyers are looking for a living space that reflects their style and personality.

The survey was commissioned by internet service provider TalkTalk, who teams up with TV interior designer Anna Richardson, who said: “When it comes to interior design, I’ve always loved the extraordinary – it’s the bold, unconventional and unique features that make a home individual to me.”

“While the aesthetic is important, I’m often using multiple devices while my home flexes between being a workspace, hangout for friends and family and a cosy den to catch up on my favourite shows.”

The study also revealed that the pandemic has impacted what 20 per cent of property hunters are looking for in a new home. A total of 65 per cent are looking for more space, and two-fifths are looking for a home close to work, while 45 per cent said that a fast and reliable internet connection is vital.

Jonathan Kini, managing director of TalkTalk Consumer and Direct Business, said: "Many of us are looking to extend our home or make use of more unconventional living spaces.”

If you’re looking for experts in listed building restoration, talk to us today.

How Old Is My Period Property?

Period homes continue to be hugely popular for Brits, and the large, roomy houses have been even more in demand as people seek out larger homes and properties with gardens following the lockdowns of the last couple of years.

But do you know how old your home is, or what era it belongs to? There may be times when you will need to know this, such as renewing your home insurance or looking for a better deal. We have a look at how to find out!

There can be a few different ways to find out the age of your home. Firstly, you should go and check any documentation from when you purchased the property. If you have the title deeds or title register that you will have received when you bought your home, then the construction date will be listed.

If you can’t find your title deeds, you can obtain new copies for £3 from the government website. Alternatively, you can get in touch with your local authority and ask when planning permission was granted for your property.

If this doesn’t give you any answers, then you should contact the company or person from whom you bought the property, as they would have had to fill out a TA6 property information form, which will include the date it was built.

Another idea would be to ask neighbours, as their homes may be built at or around the same period, and they may already know.

However, for much older properties, you may need to don a Deerstalker and start a little detective work to pin down the era in which it was built. The features of your home can indicate the era and style it belongs to, such as the flat, symmetrical eateries or Georgian era properties, or the geometric tiling and says windows of a Victorian home.

If you’re lucky, you may even be able to find a date stone on your property telling you when it was completed.

Another option you could try is searching the 2,000 properties listed on the government’s website or going through your local record office archives.

If you’re looking for experts in listed building restoration, talk to us today.

Where Is The Best Place To Buy A Period Home?

We all have a checklist when looking for a new home, maybe it has to be close to a network hub or local amenities, perhaps you want a larger garden, or ideally a house in the countryside away from the hustle and bustle of the city. But for many people, it is the draw of a period property.

But if you’re looking for historic beams, decorative cornicing, sash windows and glorious fireplaces, you may want to consider where is the best chance to find period features? We have a look at the best places to buy a period home, from the gorgeous period mansions of London to the beauty of Argyle and Bute in Scotland.

Property portal Zoopla has compiled a list of the best places in the UK with period properties for sale, all listed as either Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian, or Tudor.

It may be of little surprise to anyone, but the number one spot was grabbed by London, as it is the region with the most period properties for sale, with 19 per cent of homes listed boasting period features.

In terms of boroughs, Haringey comes out on top, with more Edwardian, Victorian, Georgian and Tudor era properties than anywhere else in London. The city dominates the ranking, with seven London boroughs making it into the top ten, including Waltham Forest and Fulham.

Outside of the Capital, Brighton and Hove found itself in fifth place, with 24 per cent of properties being marketed as having period features.

Elsewhere, Argyll and Bute in Scotland is one of the rural areas with 15 per cent of properties for sale with character, and also one of the top five places to live in Scotland, surrounded by outstanding beauty, mountains, sea lochs, and 3,000 miles of coastline.

You can view the full top 10 below:

Haringey, London - 30 per cent

Waltham Forest, London - 28 per cent

Hammersmith and Fulham, London - 26 per cent

Richmond upon Thames, London - 26 per cent

Brighton and Hove, South East - 24 per cent

Merton, London - 23 per cent

Bristol, South West - 23 per cent

Kingston upon Thames, London - 22 per cent

Hastings, South East - 22 per cent

Lewisham, London - 22 per cent

If you’re looking for experts in listed building restoration, talk to us today

Tips For Renovating A Victorian House

With soaring ceilings, gorgeous mouldings, and decorative woodwork, as well as a plethora of interesting and alluring details, anyone who is renovating a Victorian property will not need to be convinced of the character and charm of a period home.

Renovating a period property is a popular option for many, in place of buying a more modern home that does not need any work undertaking, but renovation is not without challenges, and the layouts of these houses may not be suitable for everyone.

We have a look at some ideas for renovating a Victorian house to make the best of the property.

Remove Internal Walls

One issue that many owners of Victorian homes have is that the layout of the property can feel like a rabbit warren. Many homeowners now prefer to prioritise an easy flow, natural light and an open, spacious feel. 

Consider the existing layout, and consider removing internal walls that carve up spaces that would work better as one larger space. A common renovation in Victorian properties is to remove the wall that separates the kitchen from the dining space to create a larger kitchen diner.

Open up the Staircase

It is common for staircases in Victorian houses to have walls on either side, boxing them in and making them feel claustrophobic and dark. Consider opening up the staircase by taking out a wall, either to one or both sides, to create a more open, brighter feel.

Replace Missing Original Features

Original period features are highly desirable, but in many cases, they have been long missing. You can seek out replacements at reclamation or salvage yards, or find experts in period features, such as plaster and mouldings to help recreate features.

If you’re looking for experts in lath & plaster in London, talk to us today.

Listed Building Request To Save Iconic Art Deco House In Rhos-on-Sea

An attempt to preserve a historic art deco house in Rhos-on-Sea in North Wales from being demolished to make way for a controversial housing project has been rejected by the Welsh heritage board.

Despite a petition and calls from Baroness Joan Blackwell and writer and presenter Griff Rhys-Jones OBE to save 57 Marine Drive and its history, Cadw, the Welsh board in charge of historic buildings and structures, have rejected a request to have the property listed.

One of the biggest reasons for this rejection, a blow to plans for listed building restoration of the property, is that whilst it was believed that the much-loved property was constructed by famous architect Sidney Colwyn Foulkes, Cadw claims there is no evidence he designed 57 Marine Drive.

Mr Foulkes, primarily known for public housing developments, cinemas and the famous chapel of Rhos-on-Sea after the Second World War, had designed some private housing projects such as Wren’s Nest in Colwyn Bay, was believed to have been the designer behind the distinctive property.

However, Cadw instead believes that William Evans, a local contractor who bought the plot of land in 1935 and then sold the house to a Mrs Royle, a widow who originally lived in Irlam, Salford, Greater Manchester.

This makes the contribution to architectural history more locally significant than national, according to Cadw.

As well as this, the assessment found that the substantial changes to the buildings detracted from its art-deco character. This includes the division of the building into two separate flats in the 1960s, the replacement of the doors and windows with standard uPVC and the creation of a porch in 1994.

According to Cadw, the only original details left are the internal doors, the timber stairs and hallway tiling, as well as a damaged original bathroom.

This story highlights the difficulties in acquiring listed building status and the effects restorations that do not have the original character of the building at the forefront can have on a structure.

Why Staying In Makes Home Décor More Important

It’s around this time every year that some of the most nerdish stats of all come out relating to rail travel, but this year they are very relevant for those who have been spending more time at home in the pandemic.

A large proportion of people living in parts of London like Croydon will have been working from home more, or all the time, and will not be surprised to read that passenger numbers are down in the capital and across the UK.

The 2020-21 passenger number figures produced by the Office for Rail and Road did still identify London as having the UK’s busiest station - although Stratford has taken this title away from Waterloo - but showed that across the UK passenger entries to stations dropped by 78 per cent. In Waterloo the decline was from 86.9 million in 2019-20 to 12.2 million.

Since people are spending less time commuting and more working from home, décor matters more than ever. What better reason for cornice restoration in London than wanting to live and work in a more pleasant and well-maintained home environment, with the plasterwork in the best condition?

Restoring and maintaining classic features of an older home might seem at odds with redecorating or redesigning the interior. But those forecasting interiors trends for 2022 might suggest otherwise, with the focus not on ditching tradition but on using the floor space better.

For example, Architecture Lab suggests establishing a clear workspace will be a common feature of homes in 2022 as home working becomes the ‘new normal’, whatever the course of the pandemic over the coming year.

Kate Wiltshire Design offered a slightly different idea, predicting more open-plan living, which could make the exact location where work takes place the subject of more flexibility and choice.

Whatever turns out to be the dominant trends of interiors next year, however, it is likely that people will be paying more attention to it, as they continue to spend a lot more time in their home than on the train.

The Origins Of The Listed Building System

How many listed buildings exist in the UK?

Amazingly enough, there is no actual answer to this, as even Heritage ngland has noted that whilst there are 500,000 entries on the National Heritage List for England (NHLE), many of them cover multiple rows of houses, and others cover specific parts of one notable graded building.

The system, which affects the types of listed building restoration projects that can take place to maintain the particular special character of a structure, has three grades depending on the level of importance:

Grade I buildings, which are often major landmarks or historically critical buildings.

Grade II* buildings, which are of especially important interest

Grade II buildings, which have important historical characters and make up the majority of the list.

The earliest foundations of a greater focus on preservation came about with the works of John Ruskin and William Morris with the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB).

Whilst concerns about the preservation of architecture were not new, and in fact, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, one of the most successful and acclaimed novels in history had preservation as its central theme, SPAB was one of the earliest groups to take action to help protect the character of old buildings.

Mr Morris, in particular, advocated for the repair of buildings rather than an idealised reconstruction of an old building as it was in a previous age, which he saw as destroying its history.

It would take until the Town and Country Planning Acts of 1944 and 1947 for the listing system to take shape, as a result of concerns about the cultural heritage of many cities that had been lost due to the Blitz.

Since then, several changes to the philosophy, listing criteria and transparency about the list itself and its guidelines have formed, and a growing number of people have had their say about what buildings should be preserved as living pieces of history.

What Do You Need To Know Before Restoring A Listed Building?

Restoring or repairing a listed building in the UK can be a complex and lengthy process. The rules and regulations are all there for a good reason, to preserve the historic integrity of the building and the surrounding area, but it can seem like a minefield to navigate. Here’s a brief overview of the process.

Why do listed buildings have different grades?

Listed buildings are classed as Grade I, Grade II* or Grade II. Historic England explains that Grade I is for buildings of the highest architectural or historical interest, and is just 2.5% of all listed buildings. Grade II* is for buildings of more than special interest; 5.8% have been awarded this status.

The majority (92%) of listed buildings are Grade II. All listed buildings, wrecks, monuments, parks, and gardens, can be looked up on the National Heritage List for England (NHLE). All buildings built before 1700, which retain some or all of their original features, are likely to be listed, along with many from 1750-1800.

What does the listed status mean for an owner?

The listed status means that there are regulations over what changes can be made to the exterior and interior of the buildings. Owners will need to apply for Listed Building Consent before most types of work are carried out on the property.

The listing is not a preservation order designed to freeze the building in time, but any work should be sympathetic to its original character and materials. It is not impossible to alter or extend a listed building, if the correct procedures are followed.

The interior of the building is likely to boast some fine original features, and these are quite rightly protected by law. Certainly, any changes to finely detailed fireplaces, windows, internal walls, stone work, cornices, and plastering, should not take place until official permission has been granted.

If you need help with listed building restoration, talk to us today.