7B0 



Cottage Eestoratiox axd Adaptation. 



[Nov., 



COTTAGE RESTORATION AND 

 ADAPTATION. 



Maxwell Ayrton, F.E.I.B.A. 



Prior to the War the repair and adaptation of old cottages 

 to modern requirements for the accommodation of the land 

 worker, for whom they were originally built, had practically 

 ceased. Cottages and farm buildings were allowed to become 

 derelict by the hundred, and only here and there a more 

 thoughtful landlord called in expert advice to restore them to 

 life. ^lore often, however, such restoration was undertaken 

 by enterprising townsmen for conversion to that creation of 

 the last thirty years, the " week-end " cottage. 



The reason for this apathy towards the improvement of old 

 buildings is not far to seek. In the great majority of cases 

 where labourers' cottages were wanted the work was entrusted 

 to the estate agent, bailiff or local builder. In such circum- 

 stances it was undoubtedly cheaper to abandon the old 

 cottages and build entirely afresh. A brick box, slate roof, 

 imported doors and w^indows, and a blind eye for defects 

 coverable by paint made it possible to satisfy the needs of the 

 moment very cheaply in those days. The erection of new 

 cottages also involved little trouble and less skill. The art of 

 planning alterations and additions and the repair of existing 

 buildings, on the other hand, is an exacting one, calling for 

 hard brain work, experience, ingenuity and skill. 



The architect, however, is rapidly coming into his own. The 

 general public has realised the importance of his profession 

 more in the last twelve months than in the same number of 

 years before the War. Publications, exhibitions and the 

 interest show^n by the daily press have raised the standard of 

 cottage planning and developed the public appreciation of 

 good work. 



It is difficult for those unacquainted with design in build- 

 ings to grasp the possibilities which lie in an old tumble-down 

 building. To them the first solution of a problem appears the 

 only one. How frequently dreadful botches of planning and 

 impractical and uneconomical additions or alterations are 

 excused on the ground that " this w^as the ' only possible ' 

 w^ay in which the work could be done! 



It may be taken as a sound axiom that any old building 

 which has been built on reasonably good constructive lines 



