Frances Mayhew is the inspirational director who used the found space of Wilton’s to produce innovative new work in music, drama and opera, making Wilton’s into the success it is today.
We began working with them in 2006. In our original tender submission we wrote:
“We understand from discussions with Frances that your aim is not to transform the building, not to carry out an academic restoration, nor to equip the hall as a theatre space – but rather to do what is necessary to make the building safe, sound and useable.

The atmosphere of Wilton’s – the richness and excitement of its spaces - is precious - and could so easily be lost. ‘Please don’t spoil it’ is what people repeatedly said to us when we embarked on Hackney Empire – not spoiling it will be even more of a challenge at Wilton’s. Experience has taught us that it is not easy to restore a building and not change its quality; it needs a combination of sensitivity, practicality and ingenuity. The constraint of economy can also help.
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The most interesting architectural issue will be the restoration of the ‘Graces Alley’ houses. The stripped plaster has left richer, more ‘historical’, more atmospheric spaces than when they were built, but also left problems of structure, fire, sound, heat and access which have to be tackled. How to do this - how to keep their sense of history, memory, discovery and magic - while making them more useable and safe will be for us a most fascinating task.”
It has taken nine years to raise the funds and complete the project, but these words pretty much describe what we have done.

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We agreed a principle with Wilton’s and John Earl “Do no more than essential”. Recognising that it is impossible for new work to take on the qualities of depth and texture that come with age, we chose to adopt the materials and methods of the original buildings without any attempt at artificial ageing, not to pretend to be old, but to avoid any strident contrasts that might wake visitors from the dream-like experience of Wilton’s. Any inclination to introduce order was suppressed.
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Despite only doing what was essential, the work included: reconnecting adjacent walls that were slowly parting company; brick linings to damp-proof the basements; collapsing brickwork dowelled where possible rather than rebuilt; a new stone and timber stair; new partitions; new openings; new doors; new windows; new roof coverings; strengthening floors to provide modern, public loadings by doubling joists and introducing steel beams mid-span; splicing other joists that in the words of our structural engineer were “failing to arrive at the wall”; numbering existing floor and ceiling boards for exact reinstatement; reconstruction of brick hearths; reconstruction of the hall floor; stiffening the roof trusses over the hall that were gradually pushing the walls over; acoustic ceiling linings and lobbies for the hall.
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Wilton’s has gained a ventilated and acoustically separated hall, new bar space, an exhibition room, a chilled cellar, basement workshop, commercial kitchen, lettable rooms, offices, a learning and participation room, dressing rooms, showers, WCs, means of escape, a lift, and the ability to safely use every part of the building.

The extensive work to the floors provided the opportunities to fire proof the floor structures, improve acoustic separation, protect the floors from stray birthday candles falling between the boards or spilt drinks damaging the ceiling below, and install the services. All services were renewed, including performance systems in the hall; AV in the houses; fibre-optic and Cat 6 data installation; air handling for the hall and studio; new boilers, radiators, fire and security alarms, CCTV. Lighting design avoided reference to current guidelines for light levels; a central battery system was used to avoid being hampered by the range of self-contained emergency fittings available.
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Everything possible was preserved: broken fireplaces, chaotic Georgian brickwork, rotten window frames, fragments of plaster; disused roofs; old railway track built into the works in 1859; pulleys and cables from a door bell transmission mechanism, ceramic electrical fittings, pipes for gas lighting, wooden mountings in the wall, holes deemed charming and abandoned birds’ nests.
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The project was done in phases and Wilton’s remained open to the public throughout. The design was detailed by Adam Goodfellow, mostly by hand on a drawing board set up in the building. Construction was by two wonderful builders: the Hall work by William Fuller, the Houses work by William Anelay. The craftsmen of both firms have a great feeling for old buildings.
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The total construction cost was approximately £3M and both phases were completed on time and on budget."
Tim Ronalds, Adam Goodfellow & Jade Yianni