Former Winchester Hall and Hotel

The conservation of the former Winchester Hotel required repairs to the existing heritage fabric, notably the red brick exterior, the wrought iron balconies and the pressed metal cornices. A well-considered brick-replacement and repointing strategy had to be developed to address previous repairs that had unfortunately used Portland cement instead of the lime-based mortar needed for the brick masonry. The contractor, Hunt Heritage, was able to complete the masonry repairs by recreating the elegant tuckpointing on the brick - a raised ribbon of putty giving the masonry a polished finish.

During the material repairs, the owner of the property decided to take the project even further and asked GBCA to design an appropriate recreation of the lantern that once rose from the corner of the building. One archival photograph, coupled with on-site investigations and our knowledge of historic design elements, allowed us to carefully consider the scale, materials and detailing of this recreated feature.