A local manor in Elizabethan times and more recently a working farm complex,
Riding Court has become the new home for Windsor’s long established
architects, Edgington Spink & Hyne.
The practice formed a company in 1989 with local solicitors Charsley Harrison
to be called Riding Court Limited, specifically to develop the disused
buildings.
Although falling within the restrictive policies of the Green Belt, recently
introduced planning guidelines recognised the need to find new uses for
redundant farm buildings. This was especially important for the Grade II listed
farmhouse and although, surprisingly, the barns and stables were not listed,
together they formed an interesting group.
Planning consent was granted in September 1990 for a development to include a
change of use for the farmhouse to a small residential training centre, and for
the barns and stables to be refurbished as 22,000 ft of B1 in five small units.
The scheme called for the removal of a huge industrial packing shed occupying
the whole of the central courtyard and included major hard and soft landscaping
works.
Edgington Spink & Hyne recognized the need to provide accommodation
suitable for modern occupation and an effort was made to marry sympathetically
the new with the old. All of the most important original features are retained
but nevertheless it has been possible to incorporate necessary modern services,
including access floors and ducted fresh air, and for all of the office space to
be completely flexible.
To date the work on the barns and stables has been completed around three
sides of the courtyard essentially using the original shell of the two-storey
buildings. Salvaged materials from the derelict single-storey stables were
reused elsewhere on the site.
The provision of some 100 car parking spaces has been possible.
After 135 years in Windsor the new development will provide for the
foreseeable future needs of Edgington Spink & Hyne overcoming many of the
drawbacks experienced in Windsor.
Client: Riding Court Developments Limited
Structural Engineers: Cooper & Withycombe
Services Engineers: Hilson Moran Partnership
