Case study
Wickham Bishops: an 1850s house, kept original
This project started before the house was even bought. The owners, a client we had already worked for in Danbury, asked us to look at an 1850s home in Wickham Bishops with their building plans in mind. What we found saved them money on the purchase. What we built afterwards treated the house the way it was first built.
| Location | Wickham Bishops, Essex, a few miles from Little Baddow and Danbury |
|---|---|
| Service | Whole house renovation |
| Project type | Period house renovation, 1850s red brick |
| Value | Private, not disclosed |
| Completed | Around June 2024 |
The brief
The brief and the challenge
Before the purchase, we carried out an initial survey and a cost saving exercise: an evaluation of the property, close to a pre purchase survey, made with the construction the owners wanted in mind. It found real work, the roof among it, and those findings earned the owners a reduction on the purchase price that went towards the build. Once the house was theirs, we started straight away.
The specification was clear: keep the house as original as possible. This is an 1850s home of red brick construction, laid in traditional lime mortar with horsehair applied to the bricks. A building like that does not behave like a modern one, and the state of the existing finishes meant half measures were never on the table.
What we did
What Madisons did
The scope ran from the ground up: groundworks first, the old exterior cleared, and the work carried right through to the carpets. Completed around June 2024, it was a complete job, not a cosmetic one.
To pay proper homage to the building, every room we worked in was stripped right back to the brickwork. Each was then rebuilt in a traditional fashion, in keeping with the original lime construction, and brought up to a modern finish at the high specification the owners required.
That is the discipline period property work demands: old methods where the building needs them, modern standards where the owners live.
The result
The result
An 1850s home kept as original as possible, renovated room by room to a modern, high specification finish, by a team its owners had already tested on a previous house. Their first project with us was in Danbury; this was the second.
Gallery
During the work
Photographed during our work on the house: rooms rebuilt the traditional way, from the fireplaces to the panelled walls.
Project FAQ
What did the renovation involve?
Keeping an 1850s house original while bringing it up to a modern standard. Every room we worked in was stripped right back to the red brickwork, laid in traditional lime mortar with horsehair, then rebuilt in a traditional fashion in keeping with that construction, and finished to the high specification the owners required.
Can you look at a house before we buy it?
We did exactly that here. Before the purchase we carried out an initial survey and cost saving exercise with the owners’ building plans in mind; the findings, the roof among them, earned them a reduction on the purchase price that went towards the build. If you are weighing up a property, we are happy to give the same honest view.
Do you take on other period properties?
Yes, with the same discipline: old methods where the building needs them, modern standards where the owners live. Our heritage and listed buildings service covers period and listed homes across Essex, with the approvals handled before any work is priced.
See also
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