News

To the casual observer it may come as a surprise to learn that there is a characteristic ‘Woking Style’ in house building. But architectural historian and curator Charles Brooking knew he was onto something special when he spotted a semi-derelict house on the corner of Constitution Hill, Woking, which had been acquired for redevelopment by Rushmon Homes. Knowing the property was typical of a style prevalent in Victorian Woking, Charles immediately contacted the company with a view to rescuing some of the internal features of the house for the Brooking Collection, his nationally important archive of architectural features.

Martyn Bairdow, Contracts Manager at Rushmon Homes, was eager to help. He says: ‘We are always pleased to give something back to the community, and this was a good opportunity to do so. These days most of our developments are on brownfield land so it was unusual to find a site which has so much value.’

The Constitution Hill house is quite likely to have been built by a nineteenth-century developer called Smith, who was active in Surrey in the late 1800s. Charles Brooking thinks this particular house dates from about 1895. So, as a result of his collaboration with Rushmon, a number of architectural details from the house will now join the thousands of period doors, architraves, mouldings, staircases and other items that make up the Brooking Collection, which is currently housed in Cranleigh and Greenwich.

The items salvaged from the house include windows with a star pattern etched onto the glass, commonly used for cloakrooms to provide privacy, and an older version of modern obscure glass. Charles Brooking has also been given some elaborate mouldings, architraves, sections of staircase handrail, and door furniture, all of which are fine examples of the Woking style. ‘The pieces will become part of a major museum collection,’ says Charles, ‘and highlight the importance of recognising local detail.’

Rushmon Homes is to build a collection of twenty two-bedroom apartments on the site, to be called ‘Ockenden’ after the refugee charity Ockenden International, who used the house as a school and then their HQ from the early 1950s. As befits the established, leafy neighbourhood, the building is

to be traditional in style with projecting bays, flat roofed dormer windows, stone sills, and a feature conical tower. A high quality specification will include such features as custom built kitchens with integrated appliances and underfloor heating.

Its location, just 800 yards from Woking town centre and station, will no doubt be a major selling point when Ockenden is released for sale. Woking is a great place to live with an excellent shopping centre that includes branches of Marks and Spencer, Debenhams and Allders, and plenty of nightlife and restaurant life around Chertsey Road. It also has excellent travel links to London, the M25 and M3.  It’s the classic mix of town and country, especially as one road away from the development is Woking Park and the leisure centre.

For further information about Ockenden or any Rushmon Homes developments, visit www.rushmonhomes.co.uk or call 01932 586777.

-Ends-

Editors Note:

Rushmon Homes was founded in 1973 and has developed many sites in some of the most sought after locations in the south east. Almost every development is built on recycled land. The company has many industry awards to its credit including Highly Commended in the Evening Standard New Homes Awards 2006 and an accolade for Best Family Home in the 2005 Hot Property Awards. Rushmon Homes is a fully registered member of the NHBC and Zurich Building Insurance, and enjoys a premium rating.