A few projects in Barnstaple

25 Sep 23

Vicky Karavatsi, our structural engineer, has been working on various listed buildings in Barnstaple, North Devon. She also brought along our summer placement student Chloe, to inspect 36-37 Boutport Street and visit the Pannier Market, which is currently undergoing renovation. The first phase of the Pannier Market renovation was recently completed and reopened to the public on August 1st.

“It was fascinating to witness the end result of this project”.

Pannier Market:

Since the Saxon era, Barnstaple has operated as a market town. The current market hall, which was first used in 1855, has now been largely reopened thanks to renovations of the restrooms, the conversion of the corn store into an insulated/self-contained space, roof repairs, and major interior and exterior redecoration and repairs. The rehabilitation of the grade II listed building has been challenging because of the building’s intricate structures, historic fabric and the degraded condition of some of the timbers. 

36, 37 Boutport Street:

The Grade II listed building, which has a rich architectural history dating to 1905 and its entablatures with stone architraves ad cornice at each storey, makes it distinctive. During the past month, the building’s neighbouring façade has been meticulously demolished; the majority of the material with architectural elements, however, was salvaged and will be reused in the new development.

The existing Grade II listed building will be renovated and the now empty 37 plots will be transformed into a new building with the intention of establishing a crucial new pedestrian path as well as premium residences and office space for coworking, nearby enterprises, and remote workers.

Following the demolition of the façade, Vicky and Chloe conducted a thorough site inspection, paying particular attention to the uncovered hidden basement that may have been from the Victorian era and also the existing building’s exterior cream coloured Marland stone walls, typical building material of the area.

Our research revealed fascinating historical information about the structure. We located areas that would require repairs, designs or preservation work in order to maintain the stability and longevity of this historic structure.

Alongside: North Devon Council and Oxford Architects LLP