Charles Brooking

 

 

Major rescue at Warren Street,

London W1

Charles Brooking is a fascinating and knowledgeable collector of architectural detail, The Brooking Collection of Architectural Detail, and as Surveyosr 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: Did you rescue any architectural details in Warre n Street, London W1?

Charles Brooking : Yes, whilst I was still working at British Rail I rescued some items in Warren Street the buildings were laid out in the style of 1790's medium sized Georgian houses with railings dating between about 1790 and 1800.

charles-brooking28

I rescued a very interesting arched sash window with shutters, internal folding shutters from number I think it was number 62 (I will have to check on that) and also quite a lot of sash pulleys, which were very small for the size of the window. I also rescued cheap frame pulleys from houses in Whitfield Street, W1, which have now been restored e.g. most of the windows were replaced and around the same time I retrieved a lot of material from 99 Gloucester Place, Marylebone, W1 built by James Burton in about 1800. This was the home of the Barrett family, (Elizabeth Browning fame before she went to Wimpole Street and ran off with Browning), where the family lived where I retrieved shutters, sash pulleys and part of the actual staircase which was the actual staircase balustrade.

charles-brooking24

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 say that was James Barrett?

Charles Brooking : James Burton built it, the home of the Barrett Family of course Elizabeth Browning later found fame. She lived there, in those early days, fascinating but I did lose a bit it which was really frustrating and I still burn with anger that I did not rescue more.

I quickly learnt that if a site foreman thought that I was selling the items I rescued and would be set to make money from the rescue that I was presumed to be a dealer and then would not be able to rescue items. Rescuing was all about discretionary ways and it was best that I was on my own as it was easier to rescue items this way without drawing too much attention to the items themselves.

I still reel from not being able to rescue more as to get sash windows from the drawing room of Elizabeth Browning's family home would have been a real coup.

charles-brooking28

Elizabeth Browning

Elizabeth Browning was born Elizabeth Barrett Moulton-Barrett in 1806 and brought up in the west of England . Elizabeth was a Victorian renowned poet and was the wife of Robert Browning with her early work dating back to her childhood with The Battle of Marathon written at the age of fourteen. After a mysterious illness she was prescribed (which was common at the time) morphine and became addicted to the drug for the rest of her life.

charles-brooking18

Elizabeth started writing to the poet Robert Browning who was six years younger than her the correspondence grew as they wrote several hundred letters to each other then finally meeting with Robert proposing. Elizabeth's father had forbid his sons and daughters to marry so Elizabeth ran away from home and married Robert in a church near Wimpole Street, W1 then settled in Florence .

Elizabeth died in 1861 in the arms of her husband and left us with a wealth of literature which inspired others at the time of writing such as Edgar Allan Poe, and countless since.

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 or selling

Roof problems

Should I have a structural survey?

Specific Defect Reports

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.

We hope you found the article of use and if you have any experiences that you feel should be added to this article that would benefit others, or you feel that some of the information that we have put is wrong then please do not hesitate to contact us (we are only human).

The contents of the website are for general information only and is not intended to be relied upon for specific or general decisions. Appropriate independent professional advice should be paid for before making such a decision.

All rights are reserved the contents of the website are not to be reproduced or transmitted in any form in whole or part without the express written permission of buildingsurveyquote.co.uk