500-year Old Gloucester House Restored to Former Glory
A 500-year-old timber-framed building in the centre of Gloucester recently became the latest beneficiary of a city centre restoration project.
After being empty for a decade, the Grade II listed 16th century building at 41 Westgate Street was deemed to be “at risk” until the Cathedral Quarter High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ) approved a grant to restore it.
HSHAZ is a scheme with around £1.9 million in funding which aims to repair and preserve the historic buildings in the area. The scheme gets its funding from Gloucester City Council and Historic England and so far it’s restored 12 properties, including the Grade I listed Dick Whittington pub, also located on Westgate Street.
Original timber-framed frontage
The building at 41 Westgate Street is one of only a few ancient buildings there to have its original timber-framed frontage, which was uncovered during recent work.
Many of Gloucester’s old timber-framed buildings had brick facades added to them in the 18th and 19th centuries which, essentially, bricked up the original frame.
The building will be up for rent
The building which has previously been a Severn Salmon warehouse, a seed merchant and a tailor shop, will soon be up for rent.
The restoration team used traditional methods to take the old building back to its original glory. These methods included the replacement of rotted sections of timber with new wood and the reinstatement of the timber shopfront. The team also rendered the facade with lime and painted it with yellow ochre limewash.
The regional director at Historic England, Rebecca Barrett, said that the Cathedral Quarter High Street HAZ is continuing to make a lot of progress. She added that it was “great” to see the building at 41 Westgate Street displaying its jettied construction once more.
Richard Cook, City Council leader, said that the restoration of Gloucester’s historic buildings would help to support shops and boost tourism. Westgate Street has more than 70 listed buildings, he added, making it one of the city’s most historic streets.
