Reviving a Former Carriage Showroom as a Retail Space in Lancaster
A locally significant former carriage showroom in Lancaster has been restored to revitalise a retail space and shine light on the building’s heritage for customers and the local community.
The ambition
Lancaster City Council wanted this undervalued building to be understood, appreciated, and seen in its full glory. The ambition was to repair the entire building, to help breathe new life into the St Leonard's Gate area and revive one of the street’s few retail premises.
The building’s prominent location next to the Grand Theatre, which was already a project in the Lancaster High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ), increased its visual impact. St Leonard’s Gate is one of the city centre’s key gateways and as a very early route into Lancaster, it was home to a number of carriage builders in the 1800s. St Leonard's Gate is in the Mill Race heritage area which was the focus of the Lancaster HSHAZ.
The former carriage showroom was built in 1899 by local coach builder William Richmond to display his vehicles. Its distinctive design is the work of Lancaster architect Joseph Parkinson. Currently a furniture shop and showroom, the building has been in the ownership of the Smillie family since 1981.
When condition assessments of buildings in the Lancaster HSHAZ were carried out, the carriage showroom was identified as a 'building at risk'. Despite the current owners’ best efforts to keep on top of its maintenance, it was clearly in need of investment.
In October 2021 the HSHAZ team made contact with the property owners and works started in March 2023.
Who made it happen
The Lancaster High Street Heritage Action Zone was a partnership scheme led by Lancaster City Council and supported by Historic England.
Organisations involved:
- Stephen Levrant Heritage Architecture prepared a condition survey and costed schedule of works, on behalf of PRP Architects
- Conservation specialist structural engineer Jane Entwistle of Thomasons inspected the roof structure
- Thomas Consulting - structural engineers
- Envirotech conducted a bat survey
- Contract administrators HPA Chartered Architects produced technical details for the scheme
- Ducketts Building Services were the main contractors
- Traditional signwriting and interpretation by Steve Carne, of Carne and Co
These case study details were provided by Lancaster City Council.
Funding sources
- Historic England HSHAZ grant: £161,835
- Lancaster City Council grant: £109,527
- Match funding from owners: £54,893
The results
Before its restoration, the owners viewed the windows as a problem and the building's interior as something to be screened. Now they use the large windows to display their furniture and the restored shopfront makes a positive contribution to the street.
The public response to the unveiling of the restored former carriage showroom was enthusiastic and the business's social media accounts were flooded with compliments.
Omg, what a difference! Beautiful transformation - well done. I'd definitely enter that shop, whereas before now I wouldn't give it a second look.
The Smillie family have noticed an improvement in business already. They have had countless comments from passing members of the public and from customers, old and new.
The HSHAZ programme took the opportunity to make a series of social media posts about the restoration project, William Richmond, the architect Joseph Parkinson, and about the heritage of carriage building in the St Leonard's Gate area.
The owners now keep a stock of the Mill Race Heritage Trail leaflets to hand out to customers asking about the area.
See the Mill Race Heritage Trail online
The building repairs completed, include:
- New Burlington slate roof and cast-iron rainwater goods
- Window hoardings and security grilles removed
- New timber windows and repaired and new doors on the St Leonard’s Gate side of the building
- New window hoardings with interpretation installed on the Lodge Street side
- Stonework repaired and a brick wall rebuilt
- A traditional sign-writing scheme
It is really encouraging to see the difference the building works have made to the owners' business, and local recognition of this special building and the area's past. This outcome promotes the benefits of building conservation and the re-use of historic buildings, not only from a sustainability perspective, but also in terms of the positive social and economic impacts.
Lessons learnt
- Understand the story behind the building
Anyone who works in building conservation knows that really understanding a building and what makes it significant is the first step on any journey to making changes to it. This property demonstrates just how important that understanding is. Learning about the story behind a building enables a greater appreciation of its significance at both a national and local level. - Look for opportunities in the unexpected
Uncovering unexpected issues is inevitable when carrying out a restoration of a historic building, particularly a building which is considered to be at risk. The greater the scope of the scheme, the more likely this is.
An unexpected opportunity
Without a contingency fund to draw on, if something pressing cropped up, other plans had to be sacrificed.
One such sacrifice was the planned repairs to the windows on the side of the building, when a wall and the windows at the front were found to be beyond repair and had to be replaced.
So, the windows to the side remain boarded up, but the team seized the opportunity to add new interpretive sign writing to the boarding. It celebrates the carriage-making history of the building and the St Leonard's Gate area and is now a much-admired part of the building's new image.
Looking ahead
With its attractive heritage features, the building has great potential for future conversion but it has no heating and would need further investment to meet modern standards. How the interior is improved will need careful consideration.
Other building owners have taken an interest in the building's restoration and have approached the owners for details of materials and contractors. Seeing what can be achieved through the repair and reinstatement of traditional material may inspire others in the area to enhance their properties as well, only time will tell.
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