Historic Old Town building brought back to life in £2.45m restoration
LANDMARK: 79 Lowgate
By Simon Bristow
An historic building in Hull’s Old Town that had lain empty for more than a decade has been brought back to life after a £2.45m restoration.
The Grade II Listed building at 79 Lowgate was last used as the City Record Office by Hull City Council, but has sat empty since 2010 when the archives were transferred to Hull History Centre.
It has now been transformed into a modern new office building, and will be home to up to 175 council staff, who will relocate there from Brunswick House in Beverley Road and other offices as part of the authority’s plan to bring staff into one central area known as the Guildhall campus.
The work was carried out by Yorkshire construction firm Hobson & Porter, which helped with the design of the new interior.
The company has now completely refurbished and reconfigured the five-storey building, complete with new staircases, changing rooms, showers, and kitchen facilities on every floor. A new contemporary steel-framed glass atrium has also been built linking 79 Lowgate to the adjacent Warehouse 8 building.
The building now has wheelchair-friendly level access and a new lift. An original spiral staircase, which is protected by a preservation order and leads up to the building’s iconic turret, has also been restored.
Energy saving initiatives include rooftop solar panels, an energy efficient heating system and LED lighting. External improvements have been carried out to both 76 and 78 Lowgate, as well as at Warehouse 8 fronting Queens Gardens.
The building, which was built in 1881 and is in a prominent position on Guildhall Road overlooking Queens Gardens, was originally the headquarters of wine and spirits merchant Samuel Mason.
Paul McKenzie, site manager from Hobson & Porter, who led the 12-month project, said: “The age and condition of 79 Lowgate meant we faced a number of challenges on this project. We needed to work with expert craftspeople to carefully preserve the building’s historic features whilst combining the latest construction techniques and energy efficient technology, which made it a rare project to work on.
“It’s very rewarding to be able to repurpose a building for the 21st century while maintaining all the architectural heritage and elegance that makes 79 Lowgate so special.
“This included everything from restoring the spindles and handrails on the spiral staircase up to the turret, which was originally a lookout for boats coming into Hull loaded with wine and spirits, through to discovering the original cobbled loading bay when we dug down at the rear of the building. We then painstakingly removed and re-laid this to create an interesting feature on the corner of Guildhall Road.
“Ultimately, this project has both protected and modernised part of Hull’s history and brought one of the city’s landmarks back to life, as well as creating a state-of-the-art office environment for Hull City Council, so it’s definitely a job that everyone involved can be very proud of.”
Councillor Paul Drake-Davis, council portfolio holder for economic and business regeneration, said: “The investment to restore this historic building will not only make this part of the city look nicer, but it will also see council staff at the heart of the city centre. Hopefully, the restoration will give something back to the local economy that's been hit so hard in recent years."