Refurbishment of the shop units at 54-55 New Road in Chippenham next to the Railway viaduct has now reached an advanced stage, with final completion set for October this year. In April HPH Commercial Property announced that they had agreed a deal with national carpet retailer Allied Carpets who will open for trading on Friday 30th September.
The former Dreams bed shop, previously called Orwell House, dates back to 1812 and has strong links with Brunel’s Great Western Railway as it was once the home of Rowland Brotherhood, who was the principal contractor during the 1850’s for the original London to Bristol railway line. During this period, which saw the completion of the viaduct in 1852, Brotherhood added an additional wing to the rear of the property, which still remains today. Historically speaking this is a very important part of the building as it contains many contemporary features of the time, including fine detailing to Victorian floor tiles, an elegant staircase with walnut handrails and detailed ceiling cornice work which has been carefully restored as part of the work being carried out by HPH.
During this period Brunel himself was based in a small office next to Chippenham station, and it is likely that he would have been entertained by Brotherhood in Orwell House as they worked closely on this important stage of the GWR, which saw the extension of the railway line through the Box Tunnel to Bath and on to Bristol.
Following this, the buildings at New Road have also been used as a small private boarding school in the late 1800’s, before being converted into a retail shop in the early 1920’s. Throughout the rest of the 1900’s the building sustained many different retail businesses, including A R Hinders cycle and motorcycle shop which gave way to Barrett House Furnishings in 1935. In 1937 the building was split to house two shops and Barretts was joined by G U Button drapers. Buttons traded from the building until 1950 at which point it was replaced by another draper, T W Swales, who remained there until 1973. By 1974 the building had firmly established itself at the centre of Chippenham’s retail area and Barretts now occupied the entire building, remaining there until the Dreams bed company moved in during the mid 1990’s. That strong retail focus remains today and looks set to continue into the future with the imminent arrival of Allied Carpets.
Throughout the period of work on the property, the aim has been not only to maintain and preserve many of the historically important features of the building, but also to uncover and restore many of those which have been covered up over the years. Ken Biggs Contractors Ltd are carrying out the refurbishment of the property under the direction of Tektus architects of Bath and have been working closely with North Wiltshire District Council Heritage Officers to restore many of the features in as sympathetic a way as possible.
Mike Stone, Curator at Chippenham Museum & Heritage Centre said of the redevelopment: "The restoration and opening of Orwell house will historically link the present back to the 19th Century with the beginning of railway engineering under Rowland Brotherhood. The house was used then on many occasions to host engineers, cyclists, football teams and local scholars. When walking around Orwell House the public will again be able to glimpse and be part of Chippenhams rich historical past within a retail environment."
Commenting on the progress of the development Chris Wordsworth, Development Director at HPH said: "The proximity of the property on New Road to Brunel’s railway, and its involvement in the railway’s development make it an extremely significant site historically, and although its role has long since changed we are working to ensure that as many historical features as possible are brought to the forefront. In doing this we hope to provide two top class retail outlets whilst adding to the ongoing regeneration of this area of Chippenham town centre."
The work on 54 and 55 New Road follows on from extensive improvements to the pedestrian underpass area on the other side of the viaduct at Marshfield Road. The recent arrival of stylish new street lighting followed on by the proposed floodlighting of the arches towards the end of the year and the completion of HPH’s refurbishment project all make up a valuable part of what is an important regeneration project for Chippenham.
EXTENSIVE REFURBISHMENT OF IMPORTANT HISTORICAL PROPERTY NEARS COMPLETION
