Buttress Architects | Quarry Bank

Quarry Bank Project

The National Trust’s Quarry Bank in Cheshire, is one of the best-preserved textile mills of the Industrial Revolution; and is now a museum of the cotton industry. The main mill building is Grade II* listed and is an imposing brick building sitting on the banks of the river. The history of the mill, its workers and owners then unfolds across the 300 acre Styal Estate with the Greg family residence ‘Quarry Bank House’ and kitchen gardens, the apprentice house and workers cottages; again many of which are listed.
We worked with the National Trust as part of the ‘Quarry Bank Project’; a major Heritage Lottery Fund project which aimed to tell the whole story of the estate for the first time, with access to and interpretation of all the key buildings, structures and landscapes. The phased project included, mill visitor route study, upper gardens, mill yard feasibility, co-ordination and Styal village properties.

Upper Gardens

As part of the wider upper gardens project, we were involved in the restoration of a rare example of a 19th century curvilinear glasshouse.

The initial stages of the project involved the carefully dismantling of the glasshouse's damaged cast iron frame. The frame was then removed from site and taken to a workshop where, over six months, engineers carried out painstaking work to make repairs and identify missing pieces of the structure.

The new structural frame was then recast using metal recycled from old automotive parts and reassembled. More than 7,500 panes of glass were then used to fill the frame.

As well as the glasshouse, the adjoining back sheds that were once the potting area for the estate’s gardeners and the location of the boilers, have been restored. These ‘interactive potting sheds’ will allow visitors to discover the story of the people who cared for the garden.
Mill Yard Works

The works within this phase of works included included a review of the mill to better understand the visitor routes into and through the building and the site, and the impact on the visitor experience.

We then delivered internal refurbishment, interpretation works, and provided improved visitor access across floor levels within the Grade II* listed mill through the installation of internal ramps and a new passenger lift.

We also provided a co-coordinating role for all planning and listed building consent applications for all works and landscaping projects under the umbrella of the Quarry Bank Project to ensure a consistent quality of information and programme is achieved.
Styal Village Cottages

Finally, we supported the National Trust to develop packages of repairs and interpretation for 13 Oak Cottages.

In the 1970s, when the National Trust was thinking about the future of Quarry Bank they had the foresight to leave one of the cottages in the village untouched, doing only the necessary maintenance to preserve No. 13 Oak Cottages for the future.

A sensitive restoration was carried out to protect and retain as much of the cottage’s historic fabric as possible. For example, the cottage’s historic wallpaper was repaired and domestic fixtures and fittings conserved. An early example of linoleum flooring was also carefully removed, conserved and replaced in-situ after repair. The cottage’s floor and wall finishes were also be renewed.

The cottage is now open to visitors, giving them a unique opportunity to step inside a workers’ home and listen as a script brings to life the people who lived there.
Quarry Bank House

Quarry Bank house was built by Samuel Greg and his wife in the 18th century. Built close to the house, Samuel Greg and his wife wanted to be at the very heart of the business operation. The Grade II listed house represents a perfect example of social change in this period.

We have worked with the National Trust to restore the house to allow it to be opened to the public for the first time.

The policy for repair has been to use matching traditional materials, details and methods, introducing modern or new technologies only where they serve to preserve more of the original fabric in a visually non-intrusive way.

Any modern additions have been carefully considered to ensure that all primary features dating from the Greg family’s occupation have been retained, removing only those elements which are detrimental to the primary historic fabric.

Visitors to the house are now also able to explore the story of the Greg family in their home through performances, film, audio and set dressing.

Glasshouse Restoration - Winner of the North West LABC Building Excellence Award 2018

Quarry Bank Project

Upper Gardens

Mill Yard Works

Styal Village Cottages

Quarry Bank House