A substantial villa style property on the Suffolk coast, with an intriguing connection to the world-famous Koh-I-Noor diamond, has undergone a transformation after years of neglect with both Haddonstone dry cast and TecLite stone products being employed across the new-build extension and refurbishment elements to the project.
Ridley House, on the outskirts of Felixstowe, dates from the early 18th century and has undergone previous alterations, including a makeover in the style of an Italianate marine residence, before becoming part of the local lady’s college in 1933. The current owners, Nigel and Maureen Weir, purchased the property in 2013 before recruiting local design practice, Robert Allerton Architects, to realise their ambitious plans for reconfiguring the layout and upgrading the exterior fabric.
With SEH French appointed as the main contractor, all of the ageing render was removed from the solid brickwork walls and new openings created to bring more daylight into the reconfigured interiors, while a major new extension was raised using fully insulated cavity construction. Although the latter features an imposing balcony fronted by Haddonstone dry cast balustrading, the manufacturer’s glass fibre reinforced cement TecLite mouldings were specified to enrich the older elevations without imposing significant additional loadings.
Rob Allerton, the founding partner at Robert Allerton Architects, explains:
“The house had gone from being dormitories for a lady’s college to a private house before my clients bought it. In addition to layout changes and new windows, we undertook some ‘light touch’ alterations to respect the historic aspects to the property. It is best known for having once been occupied by Sir John Spence Login, guardian of Dulep Singh, the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, and thereby guardian of the Koh-I-Noor diamond that now forms part of the Crown Jewels. Above the window heads, we used Haddonstone’s TecLite mouldings in order to minimise the load and because we could not build back into the structure. Then, around the extension, the balcony was created by a ring beam on the cavity wall with a slab and the dry cast balustrade. The landscaping work also used a large quantity of copings and pier caps for patio walls. We have used Haddonstone for a variety of projects in the past for our residential and other clients and, in the case of Ridley House, the company offered us all the technical answers to the challenges we faced.”
Haddonstone is a founder member of the UK Cast Stone Association whose portfolio encompasses a wide selection of traditional, classical and contemporary designs to suit virtually any setting, and therefore all types of commercial as well as residential development. The members of its Building & Construction team combine more than 100 years of experience while the craftspeople in its workshops can produce moulds to fulfil virtually any bespoke order.
For further information, call 01604 770711 or visit www.haddonstone.com/en-gb