Planning has been approved for White Red Architects’ restoration and conversion of Raglan Gatehouse.
The Grade II listed stone Gatehouse was formerly the entrance to an army barracks in Devonport, Plymouth. Built during the Crimean Wars, the barracks takes its name from one of the commanders of that conflict, Lord Raglan, and was designed by the eminent architect of the Royal Albert Hall, Francis Fowke.
The proposal is to insert four new dwellings into the Gatehouse and construct a new row of mews style houses along the adjacent street. The site has been arranged to provide a new public square directly in front of the Gatehouse, restoring the remains of the large, open parade ground, part of which was lost with the construction of a housing estate at the rear. The existing Gatehouse is a jumble of levels and sections of historic walls which all need to be preserved.
With few opportunities to alter the structure, and very few existing openings to work with, the new dwellings needed to be carefully designed in order to provide natural light and access.
White Red Architects have designed a careful, low-impact set of interlocking new structures which sit within the existing Gatehouse, and partially on top of one another, to achieve the necessary influx of light and access to the dwellings.
The scheme, for Muniment Ltd, is expected to start on site in the summer.
