1 Derby Gate

Project Overview

1 Derby Gate was originally the Whitehall Club, a gentleman’s club house, built in the manner of a Venetian palace. The Grade II* listed facades and all their exquisite carvings were designed by Charles Parnell and executed by James Tolmie.  The House of Commons and the adjacent former 45 and 46 Parliament Street run a satellite library service from the building and house a number of reading rooms.

Stonewest were initially engaged to advise on and carry out a range of cleaning exemplars to establish appropriate specifications to achieve the light touch desired level of cleaning.  Stonewest were then instructed to conserve the facades by extensively cleaning and repairing the intricate stonework, including chimneys and carved embellishments, many of which had become obscured by pollution and eroded by years of weathering.

Key Successes

• Joint inspections with the architect and development of elevation repair schedules.
• The North East chimney was removed and rebuilt where the extent of the degradation to the stonework made localised repairs impractical.
• Re-instatement of old and new indents to the chimneys and elevations replacing damaged and defective stonework.
• Renewal of decorative carved embellishments – Lion’s head at high level, beneath the coping and console brackets along the cornice.
• Development of new roof eaves.
• Localised reinstatement of paint schemes to match historic painted areas using microporous mineral paint.
• Repair of rendered chimneys: consolidation of brickwork core and reinstatement of mouldings and profiles to match original.
• Internal cleaning and repair to 1860’s granite staircase and walls.