Trending:

Nine wonderfully-restored Georgian buildings and landscapes, as recognised by The Georgian Group’s 2021 Architectural Awards

John Goodall John Goodall

Country Life's architecture editor John Goodall chaired the panel of judges for The Georgian Group’s 2021 Architectural Awards, sponsored by Savills. These are the winners.

The awards have been held annually since 2003, having been set up to ‘celebrate exemplary conservation and restoration projects in the UK’.

This year there was what John called a ‘remarkably strong field’, and the awards on Tuesday 5 October were an opportunity to applaud the extraordinary vision and commitment to restoring some of the most striking Georgian buildings and landscapes in the country.

That commitment is all the more remarkable considering the effects of the pandemic, as John mentioned:

‘After all the difficulties of the last 18 months these awards are particularly inspiring. They are also testimony to the perennial importance, interest and quality of our Georgian heritage.’

Here are the winners, with a few comments from the judges; you can see the entire list, including the commended entries, at georgiangroup.org.uk.

Recommended videos for you

Best restoration of a Georgian Country House

Radbourne Hall, Derbyshire

This 1739 building took three years to restore, part of which related to works done — for better and worse — in the 1950s. Damage done by a 1950s structural steel has been remedied, while a John Fowler decorative scheme of the same era has been retained and conserved.

Main front of house at Radbourne. Credit: Paul Highnam

 

First floor entrance hall at Radbourne. Credit: Paul Highnam

Best new Building in a Georgian Context

Wolverton Hall Folly, Worcestershire (Read our article here).

‘The result is a building that can express in classical terms the different moods of time and place with an underlying seriousness and humour,’ said the judges of this project.

Folly, as seen from the house. The Folly at Wolverton Hall. ©Paul Highnam for the Country Life Picture Library

Best restoration of a church or chapel

All Saints Church, Newcastle

Although one of the finest buildings in the city, it had long been on the Georgian Group’s casework radar and on Historic England’s Heritage-at-Risk register — now, thanks to this wonderful project, it is now removed from both.

Credit: All Saints Church, Newcastle / Georgian Group

Best restoration of a Georgian Building in an Urban Setting

Buxton Crescent Hotel and Spa, Derbyshire

‘This heroic and transformative project has taken more than two decades to come to realisation and combines conservation and new work,’ said the panel.

Credit: Buxton Crescent Hotel and Thermal Spa / Georgian Group

Best re-use of a Georgian Building

Cobham Dairy, Kent

Abandoned for over a century, now restored as a self-catering cottage — a new role which should secure a long future.

Cobham Dairy, Kent. Credit: John Miller / Landmark Trust

Best restoration of a Georgian structure or interior

The Bath Stone Bridge, Halswell Park, Somerset

Some of the stonework was still in place; some was successfully fished out of the murky depths; but much had to be cut afresh.

The Bath Stone Bridge, Halswell Park. Credit: Paul Highnam / Georgian Group

Giles Worsley Award for New Work in the Georgian spirit

Nithurst Farm, West Sussex (Read our article on Nithurst here)

Nithurst Farm, West Sussex- The home of Adam and Jessica Richards. Photograph; Will Pryce/Country Life Picture Library

Best restoration of a Georgian Garden or Landscape

Gunton Park, Norfolk

Credit: Gunton Park / Georgian Group

Diaphoros Prize

The Con Club, Framlingham, Suffolk

The Con Club, Framlingham, Suffolk, is an on-going private initiative to revitalise a Regency building and several ancillary buildings, with artists’s studios, a cafe, public rooms, an exhibition space, youth club and the town-council office.

Credit: The Con Club / Georgian Group