External restoration of The Walronds
Earthouse Building Conservation Ltd was the only contractor carrying out cob and lime renovations at The Walronds in Cullompton, on behalf of the main contractor Splitlath Building Conservation Ltd. This was a lengthy project backed by English Heritage in order to restore this Grade 1 listed property in the middle of Cullompton High Street. This property was built in the early 1600’s and is of great historical value to the town, so we were very proud to be asked to assist in its restoration.
The Walronds is now open to the public with various events taking place. For more information please visit the website by clicking here.
Below you can see some before and after photos.
Rear aspect of The Walronds prior to restoration
Rear aspect view following restoration of The Walronds
This photo shows the rear aspect of The Walronds prior to work commencing and the same view following the restoration work undertaken. Earthouse carried out conservation and restoration activities both internally and externally, before lime rendering the whole of the exterior and a large percentage of the internal areas.
Front aspect of The Walronds prior to restoration
Front aspect of The Walronds following restoration
This was the front aspect which looks out into the High Street. Little attention was paid to the building by the general public and many people assumed it was being left to fall into decay. It was shielded from public view whilst work was completed, but most agree that the wait was worth it! It was opened to the public in summer 2014.
Some of the damage and neglect to the property prior to its’ restoration can be seen below.
Plant growth damaging the walls of The Walronds
Scaffolding up ready for restoration work to commence
Damage to external window surround
The photos below show some of the before and after photos; there are hundreds of photos that interested parties have taken throughout the project so people well into the future will be able to appreciate the conservation work that took place to restore this beautiful building to its former glory and more!
Internal restoration at The Walronds
Damage to decorative plaster work
Fully restored decorative plaster ceiling
Earthouse assisted with the decorative plasterwork and was responsible for restoring this ceiling.
Lime restoration at The Walronds
A restored and newly furnished part of the suite of rooms upstairs. Earthouse worked on the lime plasterwork, restoring the laths where required and lime rendering the plaster.
Window place restoration – The Walronds
Restored window place – The Walronds
The Walronds has some beautiful old windows, some original. However, the window surrounds were in need of a lot of work. These are some of the finished windows.
Bedroom – Before restoration – The Walronds
The Nun’s Room after restoration
The room above is a bedroom known as The Nuns’ Room. The first picture is prior to restoration. The walls and floor were restored along with the window surround. The walls have been lime rendered to create a soft textured finish.
Fully restored bedroom at The Walronds
Bedroom restoration – The Walronds
Bedroom restoration
Examples of the restored bedrooms.
Ongoing restoration work – The Walronds
Restored stairwell – The Walronds
The stairwell was fully stripped and restored. The first phot shows the work part way through, with first coats of lime plasterwork applied and new carpentry in place. The second photo shows the end result.
It is great to see that The Walronds is now being used for community and private events regularly. Recently local companies such as The Bakehouse and Pickle Shack have advertised events there, amongst others.
