Whitehall Historic House, a Grade II* listed building, is a rare example of Tudor architecture on a domestic scale. Although originally built as a meeting house, for most of its life it has been a home at the heart of Cheam Village and was opened by the London Borough of Sutton as a museum in 1978.

Conservation improvements included structural repair and reinforcement and remediation work to the fabric of the building such as replacement of unsuitable renders to resolve damp penetration. The scheme included installing a lift adjacent to the existing building and creating new openings within the historic fabric (where openings were located previously) to provide suitable level access for wheelchair users. Garden improvements included greater focus on a 14th century well associated with a previous building on the site.

BFF provided specialist conservation architect services to Curl la Tourelle Head Architects (CLTHA) and, in consultation with English Heritage, developed a number of options for Sutton’s consideration based on different levels of investment.

We assessed CLTHA’s proposals and ensured these were designed to avoid or minimise harm, for example the resolution of DDA accessible thresholds and level changes internally were carefully integrated within the historic fabric. Assisting with the details these inventions successfully avoid conflict and damage and could be deemed to be reservable.