 The restored façade of Chatham House. Photo: Future Chatham Work to restore the front of a historic Georgian mansion in Rochester has reached completion. The Grade II*-listed building on the corner of Hulkes Lane and the High Street, known as Chatham House, has undergone a makeover thanks to around £200,000 in government funding. Restoration work included reinstating a copy of the original portico entrance and railings, as well as installing new steps and repairing the façade.  A copy of the original railings and pillars has been reinstated. Photo: Future Chatham  The reinstated portico entrance. Photo: Future Chatham Chatham House was built in around 1740 as a mansion for Isaac Wildash, complete with a working brewery behind it in Hulkes Lane. It is believed that Rochester MP James Hulkes ran his brewing business here, before it was sold to Charles Arkcoll, who renamed it to the Lion Brewery. The brewery was then sold to Style and Winch, and it finally closed in 1912. It has been occupied by Featherstones Ltd since the early 1920s when it became home to the furniture, carpet and hardware departments of the local family-run department store chain. The original boundary walls, railings and portico were demolished in the 1930s to make way for a single-storey shopfront, which survived until 2003. Featherstones ceased to trade in 1983 and the mansion house has sat empty since, with Historic England later placing it on the Heritage at Risk register due to its poor condition and uncertain future.  The single-storey shopfront attached to Chatham House in June 1962. Photo: Historic England Archive  The front of Chatham House before restoration work began. Photo: Future Chatham This first phase of work started in December last year and was planned to be finished by the end of April. However, renovators discovered that the wall plates supporting the roof were rotten and the wall needed to be rebuilt, prompting delays to the project. Featherstones is now carrying out a process to secure a contractor to restore the building’s interior, with work anticipated to begin before the end of the year. "I am delighted that we can share this special building with the community." Sheila Featherstone, director of Featherstones and great granddaughter of the founder, John Featherstone, said: “Chatham House looks wonderful. The completion of the external works is a major milestone, which has been achieved through focused teamwork. "We appreciate the continued support of Historic England and Medway Council and the dedication of all the trades who have made this possible. "It is difficult to appreciate the amount of work that has happened in only 9 months and I am delighted that we can share this special building with the community. "It was great to open in time for the Heritage Open Days, which welcomed more than 600 visitors over the four days, 100 years on from its first opening as part of Featherstones.”  Chatham House during the restoration work. Photo: Future Chatham Alice Brockway, inspector of historic buildings and areas at Historic England, said: "Chatham House’s transformation has given the building a new lease of life and marks the beginning of a new chapter in its near 300-year history."
A reminiscence project was also delivered by Future Chatham and community arts organisation Creatabot alongside the restoration to gather people's memories of working or shopping at Featherstones. Dozens of stories from local people were received and an hour-long interview with Christopher Featherstone, grandson of the founder, was released on YouTube. The restoration is the first stage of a long-term project to bring the building back into use and is also the first major capital project funded by Historic England's High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ) programme, which runs until 2024. The HSHAZ scheme is backed by £1.6 million in government funding to revitalise a section of the Star Hill to Sun Pier Conservation Area, which covers parts of Chatham and Rochester high streets. Find out more about the HSHAZ programme by clicking here. Comments are closed.
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