Awards 2023
CORNISH BUILDINGS GROUP AWARD WINNER 2023
Trevolt, Nancledra
(Jacob Down for Morveth & Abi Ward)
Designed by Jacob Down for Morveth and Abi Ward, this remarkable house received a Cornish Buildings Group Award for the outstanding restoration and repurposing of a unlisted historic building.
Built in the early twentieth-century as electricity sub-station to distribute electricity generated by the newly-built Hayle power station to surrounding mines, it stood derelict for a number of years before being well-converted into an exciting family home, with sensitive modern additions.
The judges were particularly impressed by the way in which, despite extensions being added, the historic profile of this distinctive and unusual building was maintained, whilst the internal design created an enchanting modern home with great thought given to circulation and to the clever use of light borrowed on all three floors from a skylight at the top of the building.
JENNY GASON AWARD
Voss Tower, Trematon
(Anthony Elliot for Viscount and Viscountess Boyd)
The Jenny Gason Award recognises high quality restorations of smaller historic buildings and structures as well as historic detailing and craftsmanship in Cornwall.
Constructed by Anthony Elliott for Viscount and Viscountess Boyd, Voss Tower is sited on elevated ground above Voss House, a remarkable house built several years ago and which received a commendation in the 2018 CBG Awards. The tower serves a dual purpose, being both an eye-catcher in the surrounding landscape of Voss and a lookout point which affords spectacular views over the surrounding south-east Cornwall countryside.
The judges rejoiced in the fine stonework, the carefully-designed batter of the tower’s walls and the false perspective cleverly created by the tower’s relatively diminutive scale.
CORNISH BUILDINGS GROUP COMMENDATIONS
Redevelopment of the Lovering clay dry site and remains at Charlestown
(ALA Architects)
The early-twentieth century clay dry at Charleston became derelict in the late-twentieth century and suffered a catastrophic fire which destroyed its roof. Several unsatisfactory schemes have been proposed for the site over the years.
ALA Architects produced an impressive scheme including housing designed with an industrial aesthetic, reflecting the site’s importance as part of historic China clay mining heritage, whilst preserving the remains of the walls to the settling tanks. The scheme also made imaginative use of the remains of the dry, restoring its massive roof, repurposing the building as garages and storage for the houses.
The judges felt that the quality of design and success in bringing the site back into use whilst preserving its historic significance richly deserved a commendation.
Restoration of the clay dry and insertion of a museum-quality gallery at Wheal Martyn Clay Works
(Paul Perry for Wheal Martyn Clay Works)
The restoration of the China-clay dry at Wheal Martyn and creation of a fine new gallery to pleasingly simple designs by Paul Perry of Poynton Bradbury Wynter Cole Architects has significantly improved the condition and display of the historic assets at Wheal Martyn and added valuable new exhibition space.
The restoration of the clay dry involved careful repair of the roof structure which was developing an alarming lean, and improvement of access walkways which have enabled a much better appreciation of the form and function of the building.
The judges thought that the combined scheme was very deserving of a commendation for the careful preservation of the historic structures and intelligent re-use of the building where the gallery is located.
St Austell Townscape Heritage Initiative shopfronts
Three imaginative China clay-themed shopfronts, created as part of a publicly-funded townscape scheme, have done much to improve the public realm in the centre of St Austell, a once thriving town with an economy based on China-clay extraction.
The scheme received a Cornish Buildings Award Commendation for outstanding commitment to the regeneration of St Austell town centre, informed by the town’s clay-mining heritage.
Find out more about the completed THI scheme
Chimney at former West Wheal Kitty Mine, St Agnes
Extensive mining activity was carried out in and around St Agnes during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Tangible remains of this activity include engine houses and chimneys, scattered amongst modern day St Agnes.
A group of St Agnes residents commendably worked together to restore this fine mine chimney, sited in the garden of an apartment block. It would have been very easy for the owners of the chimney to have walked away from its preservation and to have abandoned it. Instead, they took up the challenge and commissioned a sensitive restoration to stabilise the chimney and preserve it for future generations.
The judges were of the view that these heroic efforts to preserve a significant remnant of Cornwall’s historic mining heritage deserved a commendation as part of this year’s awards.
Boskelly, Carbis Bay
Designed by Paul Perry of Poynton Bradbury Wynter Cole Architects and built by Sam Whitall this sensitive extension of a fine early nineteenth-century double fronted house replaced an early twentieth-century extension which was suffering from chronic failure of concrete used in its construction, necessitating its demolition.
The project received a Commendation for the restoration and extension of a listed building with particular attention to detail and fine craftsmanship, the new wing respecting, but considerably improving, the design of the original.
(Photos by Eric Berry, Patrick Newberry and Samantha Barnes-Knight)
