When asked by our client to travel to the Sound West of England to provide our services, Hawthorn Estates were happy to help.

We sent our refurb team to the historic market town Helston, Cornwall.

Helston

A quaint village on the edge of the Lizard Peninsular, Helston is located approximately 12 miles east of Penzance. This old market town is known for its annual flora dance as well as their mining of tin.

Over a long period of time, more than 100 tin and copper mines had been opened in and around Helston.

The local miners were known to assemble to have their tin tested and weighed in the ‘coinage hall’, hence the name of Helston’s main thoroughfare, Coinagehall Street.

Helston is home to Georgian and Victorian architecture with ‘The monument’ built-in 1834, an outstanding feature on Coinagehall Street.

The building we are sent to look over is located on one of the other main streets in the village Meneage Street.

Meneage street has always been the centre for commercial businesses since the beginning of the town.

The Building

What was requested was for a commercial building to be refurbished into residential—much organising need to be done.

The building was in a heritage area; precautions were needed to be installed before Hawthorn Estates ordered materials.

Any work done in this town needs to be kept in character with the heritage windows, doors and the buildings facing stones. Therefore, it was essential to keep safe any features that are part of the listing.

Ideally, keeping all listed buildings in good order to maintain the heritage of the area is beneficial.

With this building being in a historic town, our surveyor was hands-on during this project. With the knowledge of how best to look after an aged property, Hawthorn Estates ensured any historic feature took priority.

The work needed was to remove old office equipment and remove the out of date heating system.

Before we started our work, we discovered that the gas meter had been removed, but the line was still live to the property.

Two months before works was to begin, we arranged for a new meter to be installed. But, sadly, after the start of the project, it took six weeks of delays by the utility company to get the new meter installed.

While we waited for the gas meter to be installed, we completed all we could.

The removal of office equipment was our health and safety priority; the filing cabinets were needed to be taken down a flight of steps. Draws were fixed using duck tape, and Spotters were stationed in strategic places.

The old heating system was removed and replaced, with the health and safety procedures followed. Hawthorn Estates provided all PPE.

The system needed to be sufficiently drained before the removal and replacement of the boiler; if this did not happen, the premises would be flooded, and works would cease.

Keeping with tradition

Keeping the commercial Meneage Street tradition, the ground floor of the building remains a thriving business.

Whereas now the first floor is transformed from an old office and storerooms to a spacious flat ready to be lived in at the heart of the town.