Lathams has completed the £1.7m refurbishment and repair of The Whitworth Centre, a Grade II listed building in Darley Dale, Derbyshire.
The Whitworth Centre was bequeathed in trust for the people of Darley Dale in 1890 by the widow of the noted industrialist and inventor Sir Joseph Whitworth.
Constructed using the finest architectural materials of the day, the building included stone clad exterior extensions, a fine Victorian timber beam roof and many panels of Hopton marble.
For its time it provided a state-of-the-art community facility, including a ballroom, possibly Britain’s first heated swimming pool, a library and a billiard room. However, in recent years it had fallen into a general state of disrepair as it had struggled to find a wide enough range of commercially viable uses.
Lathams director Stuart Hodgkinson explained: “From the moment we first viewed the building, it was obvious that despite being down-at-heel and a touch unloved, here was an amazing building.
“When it was constructed in 1890, absolutely everything was done to the very highest standards. And here we were more than 100 years later, and everything was still exactly as it had been back then – all the original architecture and even the furniture in rooms like the library.
“Our philosophy in those circumstances was to restore the character of the building by doing as little as possible to it, at the same time as making it fit for new uses, particularly conferencing.
“Wherever possible we simply repaired what we found, and we kept additions to an absolute minimum.”
One addition that was required was an extension to provide ‘break out’ space for conferencing. This was independently structured on a steel frame and carefully located in a small courtyard to minimise its impact on the form and setting. It was designed in stone with a pitched roof to ensure it sat together comfortably with the existing building.
Other interior works repaired and upgraded the ballroom, performance and large function spaces, created a new Terrace Café and kitchen facility, improved reception and displays depicting the building’s history, and improved access throughout the building to fully meet modern access requirements.
The whole project was 75 percent funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
John Evans, Chairman of the Whitworth Trust, said “We were delighted to be awarded a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund of a sum sufficient to enable us to restore the Whitworth Centre to its rightful place in the community, and to provide exceptional facilities from which to run a community business.”
