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Bradford is a city with over 5,800 listed buildings, a legacy of being one of the success stories of Britain's industrial revolution. Now, many of the once great factories, dark satanic mills and towering chimney stacks - that fell into disrepair as the city's fortunes faltered - are being renovated as part of the cities £2 billion regeneration.

In many cases this unique Victorian architecture is now being merged with modern design and 21st century living to create some of the most stunning and sought after residential property in the North of England.

Right in the very heart of Bradford is the area most expected to become its residential hub and again it owes its existence to the once legendary industrial prowess of the city. The district of Little Germany has a unique history as a wool textiles centre and is recognised by its Conservation Area status and the fact that 55 out of the 85 buildings are listed.

With more listed buildings in its 20 acres than most major towns and cities do in their entire centres, this unique collection of buildings is so called after the German wool merchants and investors of the 19th Century who funded the building of the quarter as a place for them to live.

The quarter is becoming the city's premier residential location and, following a £500,000 face-lift, the Little Germany Urban Village has already won a planning award for Heritage from the Royal Town Planning Institute in recognition of the work and the areas conservation status.

At the heart of Little Germany, one of the more unique living opportunities has emerged. Eastbrook Hall is the largest and most distinctive of the 55 listed buildings in the area and, since its build in 1903, it has retained a strong presence in the hearts and minds of the people of Bradford.

Eastbrook Hall proudly bears a reputation as the public face of the Little Germany conservation area of Bradford City Centre. This well-known 105 year-old building, which has been under renovation for the last 20 months, is about to enjoy a remarkable rebirth.

Once the grandest of Edwardian Methodist Mission Halls, the building was closed in the early 1980s and was then gutted by a fire 12 years ago in 1996. Following the fire, the owners of the building, Aldersgate Estates, reviewed their original consent to demolish the historic hall. Instead the company developed a stunning regeneration project in partnership with The Prince's Regeneration Trust, English Partnerships, Bradford Centre Regeneration, Bradford Metropolitan District Council, Yorkshire Forward and Regen 2000.

The new designs offer a mixed-use space that preserves the impressive, original Gothic and Renaissance styling of the facades that has made the hall the landmark building it is today. Under the new plans, Eastbrook Hall has become a strikingly unique residential development which, upon completion this summer, will comprise 73 contemporary one and two bedroom apartments and 809 square metres of commercial space.

The high quality apartments have a light and airy feel, with many boasting their own balconies. The penthouses have attractive views of the Bradford skyline and all residents have the option of the much sought after city centre car parking spaces which have been cleverly integrated underneath the building. Behind the retained listed facades, and built around a charming courtyard, Eastbrook Hall's prominent position on the principal access route to Bradford offers secure, cultured, city living in a location that is hard to surpass. But the rebirth of the building has been a long and painstaking process which has thrown up some difficult, but interesting challenges.

A year into the project, contractors discovered the human remains of a girl and man on the site dating back to 1849 when the ground below the hall was used as a burial ground. The cupola and parts of the facade were in a precarious state following the fire and last year during site excavation work, the Grade II sandstone frontage slipped further into a dangerous position making the historic building’s treasured façade more unstable.

Masonry specialist Stone Edge Ltd was called in to carry out the operation to dismantle the structure to save it from collapse before reassembling it stone-by-stone. The team tackling the project to restore the former Methodist chapel have spent the last ten years working in London on the Royal households, the capital's museums and many historic facades. Richard Denneny, director of Stone Edge, commented that although, these kind of jobs are not unheard of, there are still very rare. The guys Stone Edge got together to do this work were hand picked for their skills and knowledge. Some of the workers had worked with Richard Denneny in London on the Royal households and at Windsor Castle
after the fire. The last job was the full restoration of Her Majesty's Treasury in Whitehall. This really has been a labour of love for the team as there are no other restoration projects (to the teams knowledge) in this part of England which involves such extensive work to a building of such historical significance.

As well as salvaging the facade that had slipped, 60 per cent of the blaze-ravaged pediments, and classical architectural elements of the building had to be re-carved in stone. In order to ensure the restoration remained as true as possible to the original, the masonry -1,165 stones for the façade and about 350 for the cupola - were individually numbered as they were taken down so they could be returned to exactly the right spot during the reconstruction.

One of the trickiest parts of the restoration for the stonemasons was the central arch and the company's staff even sprayed a love heart on the keystone to the arch to highlight its significance. This was followed by the intricate projecting central bay section, which is held in place by a four-ton steel counterbalance concealed within the facade. Any replacement stone was carefully sourced from Darlington to match with the original stone and when weathered will match the original colour. The bulk of the masonry used in Bradford was originally from Bolton Woods but, as with many British quarries, there is nothing left of any substantial size to meet the needs of such an ambitious project.

As well as having to source stone from across the country and using traditional lime mortar instead of cement in the reconstruction, another challenge faced was the length of time taken to hoist up every single stone because of the height of the building. Now the final part of the external construction work has been completed with the restoration and re-station of the original timber-domed Cupola. The Cupola was in a poor condition, however, in order to preserve most of its timber structure it was photographed and recorded before dismantling and then rebuilding with strengthening timber and GRP
covering.

Eastbrook Hall is a strikingly beautiful building and Aldersgate Estates are taking great care to retain the original architectural features of the external elevations, such as the cupola and stone pediments. Whilst the company has kept the historic facades, because the fire destroyed the interior they have been obliged to start from scratch inside. However, this has proved desirable for many homeowners who love the unique blend of the old and new.

Renovation projects are expensive and often problematic. It has taken over two years of hard work. The work is being part-funded through an innovative public private sector funding agreement with money and support from groups such as The Prince's Regeneration Trust and English Partnerships as well as input from Bradford Council and Bradford Centre Regeneration, the URC established to oversee the £2bn regeneration programme in Bradford.

Bradford Centre Regeneration is extremely proud of this restoration project. From the beginning of the vision to regenerate Bradford they have been committed to bringing back into modern use the city's historic environment, alongside high quality contemporary new buildings. But regeneration is more then providing new buildings and ambitious restoration projects. It is about creating great places for people, and this is what is happening at Eastbrook Hall and elsewhere in Bradford. The homes being created in these fantastic buildings can't be found anywhere else in the country. Stephen Talboys, Director of Bradford Centre Regeneration applauds the fact that Aldersgate and their partnership has been confident enough to take the risk and restore a building like this; the results are definitely worth it.

Issued by Bradford City Regeneration and Brahm

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