Charles Brooking

 

Red crayons and bores and locks

Charles Brooking is a fascinating and knowledgeable collector of architectural detail, The Brooking Collection of Architectural Detail, and as Surveyors we find his lifelong quest to collect British building details unique, informative and valuable and a collection that must be kept intact for years to come. If you need help and advice with regard to building surveys, structural surveys, structural reports, engineers reports, specific defects report, dilapidations or any other property matters please free phone 0800 298 5424.

The following is one of a series of interviews with Charles Brooking, Historic and Listed Buildings Detail Expert, The Brooking Collection of Architectural Detail and a Surveyor where we have recorded his comments and various aspects that have affected windows and doors and other collectibles. The interviews outline how his collection started and built over the years and gives an insight into the amazing architectural features housed in his fine collection.

Surveyor: You have mentioned there were red crayon marks on some items you rescued, what are these marks?

Charles Brooking : The joiners when they were fitting them would use a red crayon to mark items such as the name of the owner written on the back, so when they went away from the yard they just wrote on the back: Mr Paul 25. I often found that and checked it back and it was the owner who built it, fascinating! I still find it to some degree happening now.

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Rescue defined

Charles Brooking defines a rescue as saving a window or door or staircase that would be doomed.

Charles Brooking was a pioneer in the rescue of architectural detailing as many years ago it was very much considered a strange and an unusual past time to want to rescue old parts of buildings with everything new and shiny being so important.

Surveyor: Did you carry out some architectural detailing rescues in Bedford Square, Bloomsbury , London WC1?

Charles Brooking : Yes in two or three houses in Bedford Square, more than that probably on North side and the other sides in Bedford Square built by Thomas Leverton between the late 1770's 1780's. I rescued a range of sash pulleys, architraves, shutters, sash window sections, locks from various houses in the Square. The houses backed onto The British Museum!

Surveyor: What were the locks like?

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Charles Brooking : They were big mortice locks or grand mortice locks set into the door, some of them shaped, angled because the doors were curved. Then there were rim locks from the basements.

Surveyor: Were you taking the locks off with the doors?

Charles Brooking : Out of the doors that were going to be refurbished. Often the site foreman would say help yourself as they were not wishing to keep them so I would help myself to a lot of locks and fittings. Sometimes the locks and fittings had been boxed up because the joiners had taken out the ironmongery and I would be presented with large boxes full of locks etc as they did not wish to keep them, which I then brought back with my driver.

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Surveyor: With keys?

Charles Brooking : Never with keys sadly. I have only found two or three with keys.

Surveyor: Have you rescued an Adams window?

Charles Brooking:

Adams Windows and Principal Floors (or should we say polite rooms) Defined

Well I retrieved an Adams hob sash from Fitzroy Square which was simple overflow moulded. Some good examples of glazing bars from the principal floors which were I suppose astragal, hollow, polished mahogany.

Surveyor: Please explain a bit more about the Adams window.

Charles Brooking : Well the Adam windows were on the principal floors. They were glazed and were six over six and there were very tall ones on the first floor. There were three over six on the second floor and I got the top sash with three panes in from one of the windows which was oak.

Surveyor: Just explain a bit more, when you say three over six are we talking about the number of panes?

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Charles Brooking : The number of panes in the sash. The top sash with three panes and the lower sash had six and sometimes it was only the lower sash that operated but in the case of Fitzroy Square another Adam building it was quite common for the lower sash to move in above the top sash because it provided space above the window to move into. So when you push the bottom sash up you had quite an opening area which of course was achieved by moving into a space above the opening above the window in the wall and you had that much depth you've probably seen these, because it slides up and it was quite common in good quality.

Surveyor: So as opposed to the sliding sash ending at the top of the window, it actually slid up into the wall?

Charles Brooking : The head of the window was extended into the wall and this was an Adams detail, he did it also.

Surveyor: Sorry you just talked about principal rooms, by that you mean first floor?

Charles Brooking : Polite rooms had mahogany windows carefully orchestrated in astragal hollow, secondary rooms had polished oak ovelo.

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If you found this article on The Brooking Collection of Architectural Detail interesting you may also be interested in the following articles on our website

Buying a house

Building Surveys or Structural Surveys?

Cavity wall problems

Basement conversions

References:

TheBrookingCollection.com

DartfordArchive.org.uk

IHBC.org.uk

ProjectBook.co.uk

Independent Surveyors

If you truly do want an independent expert opinion from a surveyor with regard to building surveys, structural surveys, structural reports, engineers reports, specific defects report, dilapidations or any other property matters please contact 0800 298 5424 for a surveyor to give you a call back.

Commercial Property Surveyors

If you have a commercial property, be it leasehold or freehold, then you may wish to look at our Dilapidations Website at www.DilapsHelp.com and for Disputes go to our Disputes Help site www.DisputesHelp.com.

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