Charles Brooking

 

Major rescue at John Adam Street,

London, WC2 the Adelphi Site

Charles Brooking is a fascinating and knowledgeable collector of architectural detail, The Brooking Collection of Architectural Detail, and as Surveyors we find his lifelong quest to collect British building details unique, informative and valuable and a collection that must be kept intact for years to come. If you need help and advice with regard to building surveys, structural surveys, structural reports, engineers reports, specific defects report, dilapidations or any other property matters please free phone 0800 298 5424.

The following is one of a series of interviews with Charles Brooking, Historic and Listed Buildings Detail Expert, The Brooking Collection of Architectural Detail and a Surveyor where we have recorded his comments and various aspects that have affected windows and doors and other collectibles. The interviews outline how his collection started and built over the years and gives an insight into the amazing architectural features housed in his fine collection.

Surveyor: Can you tell us about your rescue at John Adam Street, London WC2?

Charles Brooking : Yes, I carried out an important rescue in John Adam Street which as the Adelphi site off The Strand. The Adelphi was built by the Adams brothers around 1769 / 1772 and this was the building adjoining, I think it was almost adjoining the Lancet Building . It was fascinating because it had the original Adams windows. Quite simple ovelo moulded and quite crude compared with his later development in Fitzroy Square .

Rescue defined

Charles Brooking defines a rescue as saving a window or door or staircase that would be doomed.

Charles Brooking was a pioneer in the rescue of architectural detailing as many years ago it was very much considered a strange and an unusual past time to want to rescue old parts of buildings with everything new and shiny being so important.

Surveyor: What period is the Adams period?

Charles Brooking: Really his earliest was 1750's right the way through the Hatchlands, he did work there up until I suppose 1790's.

Surveyor: So a good 40 years?

Charles Brooking : Yes.

Surveyor: 1750's until 1790's.

Charles Brooking: There were Scottish labourers on the site. Joiners were brought down and you can see the Scottish detailing on the windows, I saw quite a lot of that, so I retrieved a top sash with very simple rather crude ovelo mouldings but nothing like as sophisticated as Fitzroy Square. Baltic Pine top sash with a box frame section, wooden pulleys and some windows from the sub basements went right down because you'd arch down to the river and it was quite an amazing development.

Surveyor: Could explain where that is in London again?

Charles Brooking : It was in John Adam Street which is a Street that is parallel to The Strand.

It's a very important Adams Building with later 1820's balconettes added but the greater part of the Adelphi was demolished in 1936, which was a big scandal. The Georgian Group were founded partly as a result, in horror that all the Adams bits were sold off. It had been reworked in the 1875 but these buildings were basically untouched and obviously you can still see them but the windows have been replaced.

Surveyor: Just explain a bit more of the forming of the Georgian Group?

Charles Brooking : Well it was founded as a resort of several major demolitions by a group of various enthusiasts, mainly quite smart members of the landed gentry and others in 1937 with the demolition of Abingdon Street, Westminster the Adelphi development and one or two other sites and country houses. There was a very nasty incident at this building I went to because I noticed (this is the Lancet Building), the windows should have originally been three over three, three over six and six over six but they had been changed to I think where the three over six was you had six over six and where the three over three used to be it was three over six. I said this is wrong and a chap said don't tell anybody about this as we are putting back what we want to go back! With the builders not putting back what should go back I thought this was outrageous and informed English Heritage. When I later went back to collect the amazing Georgian doors they just broke them up in front of me as word had got back to the site I had reported their behaviour!

It was at the point that I explained to English Heritage I was obviously acting as a double agent to see that things are restored properly but now the site was aware I was checking on what was going on what I was going to be preserving was lost and no one gained anything! 

The building was restored incorrectly so, it's a very difficult line to tread, very difficult and this has happened several times but it was fascinating. I learned a great deal and we had those sash windows again with the extended heads there and the fitted lower pulleys in about 1790 because they couldn't reach the wooden ones because the joiners couldn't re-cord the windows so they just moved the pulley down and gave up on it.

Surveyor: Would you describe Extended Heads Defined as the extended head is where the window slides into the wall?

Charles Brooking : Yes it slides above the window. They had them in the Adelphi building as well.

Surveyor: Is it a brick part of the wall?

Charles Brooking : It is brick yes. A brick front and behind it's probably lath on stud, that's the way I'm sure you've seen it in your surveying work. Those were two very important sites: Fitzroy Square and the Adelphi development.

If you found this article on The Brooking Collection of Architectural Detail interesting you may also be interested in the following articles on our website:

Estimating Building Costs

Expert Witness

Foundations and Underpinning

Should I have a Structural Survey?

References:

TheBrookingCollection.com

DartfordArchive.org.uk

IHBC.org.uk

ProjectBook.co.uk

Independent Surveyors

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