Perth City Heritage Fund has been able to offer grants to large historic buildings in multiple ownership across the Perth and Bridgend Conservation Areas. Grant assistance has been key to getting owners together to carry out extensive, often comprehensive, common repairs to their tenements in prominent city street locations. Some examples of our recent projects are showcased below:
1 Hospital Street, Perth
Building Bio: A distinctive example of a Category B listed, early 19th century commercial and residential tenement that makes use of a narrow building plot. The rounded trefoil-plan corner makes this building particularly interesting, as does the pilastered-and-consoled timber shopfront fascia, which is a good example of its type. Perth is widely renowned for its fine quality shop fronts which provide a key part of the character of the city centre and reflect the wider social, cultural and economic history of the area. We’re pleased to have assisted in funding external refurbishment and repair works that have helped remove 1 Hospital Street from the local list of buildings in disrepair.
What we Funded: Grants awarded to the Owners’ Association and shop owner to help meet the costs of comprehensive repairs using traditional materials in accordance with best conservation practice.
Grant-funded works included: • structural repairs to the rear elevation tenement stair tower • removal of failing cement render • repairs to historic masonry with lime mortar • comprehensive repairs to the gutters and cast iron downpipes • roofing repairs including chimneys • shop front refurbishment.
Inchbank House, 26 Main Street, Bridgend
Building Bio: Inchbank House is a towering Category B listed Georgian building, described as new in 1795 when owned by stonemason John Gregory. Given his trade, It is quite likely that Gregory had a hand in building, maybe even designing, Inchbank. With the grant aided removal of the cement render, the fine masonry of the front façade can be appreciated as originally intended which we hope is a fitting tribute to Gregory.
What we Funded: Grant awarded to the Owners’ Association to help meet the costs of conservation and repair work to the historic tenement.
Grant-funded works included: • removal of failing cement render and repairs to historic masonry with lime mortar • window refurbishment of front elevation windows and replacement of the non original basement windows • comprehensive repairs to the gutters and cast iron downpipes.
Cunningham-Graham Close, 13-17 High Street, Perth
Building Bio: One of the very few surviving building on Perth High Street that pre-dates the Georgian new town remodelling of the city centre, this building was suffering from serious structural problems. It consists of seven residential units and two commercial units, one of which was unlettable because of years of damp problems.
What we Funded: Grant awarded to the Owners’ Association to help meet the costs of conservation and repair work.
Grant-funded works included: • removal of failing cement render and repairs to historic masonry with lime mortar; • internal structural repairs; • refurbishment and reinstatement of sash and case windows; • roofing repairs including lead work, reslating and chimneys; • shop front refurbishment; • comprehensive repairs to the gutters and cast iron downpipes.
Doorway to Cunningham-Graham Close
The images below depict the passage giving access from the High Street to the tenements in Cunningham-Graham Close. Shown here is the doorway in the mid 19th century (left), prior to conservation work (middle) and upon completion in July 2015 (right). The doorway was conserved as part of PCHF Phase 2 public realm improvements.
1-3 George Street, Perth
Building Bio: The PCHF has supported the restoration of an elegant Georgian tenement built in about 1780. One of the biggest changes to the appearance of the building has been to put back the brightly painted sash and case windows to their original pattern and colour scheme, including all the false windows which were discovered when the render was removed. These windows were not blocked to reduce the amount of window tax payable but were part of the original design of the building to give a regular rhythm to the frontages.
What we Funded: Grant awarded to the Owners’ Association to help meet the costs of conservation and repair work to the historic tenement.
Grant-funded works included: • removal of failing cement render and repairs to historic masonry with lime mortar; • roofing repairs including lead work and chimneys; • refurbishment and reinstatement of sash and case windows; • comprehensive repairs to gutters and cast iron downpipes.
31b-37 High Street, Perth
Building Bio: A late 18th century Category B listed 4-storey tenement and ground floor shop unit framing Perth’s historic centre. 31b-37, and the adjoining tenement 39-43, have been in serious need of attention in recent years and have both been served with dangerous buildings repair notices by Perth & Kinross Council. We’re pleased to have helped remove 31b-37 from the dangerous buildings list through grant funding repairs.
What we Funded: Grant awarded to the owners, following the formation of an association, to help meet the costs of comprehensive repairs to the historic tenement and shop front using traditional materials in accordance with best conservation practice.
Grant-funded works included: • roofing repairs; • repairs to historic masonry with lime mortar; • comprehensive repairs to the gutters and cast iron downpipes; • refurbishment of sash and case windows; • repairs to leaking chimneys.