Romleigh Almshouses, Kendal

In 1955 Samuel T. Clarke, who founded Romney Mint Cake after the Second World War, donated land adjacent to his house to the Kendal Memorial Trust. The Kendal War Memorial Trust, using public subscriptions, built a Memorial Garden, and a bungalow for the:

occupation by a man or woman in necessitous circumstances who has been disabled while on active service in the Royal Navy, the Army, or the Royal Air Force during the 1939-45 War…

The same family lived in the bungalow from 1956 to 2018, and one of the residents went on to be director of the structural engineers for the project. In 2014 the Kendal War Memorials Trust merged with the Kendal Almshouse Charity.

The Charity currently owns and manages a total of 41 almshouses in Kendal, some of them dating back to the 17th century, which are available for over 55s who comply with the Charity’s objectives as a registered social landlord.

Most of these houses are for single persons or couples, and a three bed bungalow in need of modernisation is too big to fulfil this function. Unfortunately, the property wasn’t big enough to split into two houses, and despite exercise to retrofit and extend the property, it proved more cost and energy effective to demolish the existing property and replace it with a new development.

With two protected trees on the site, and with little access from the road, the new wheelchair adaptable dwellings have been partially built on cantilevered piles and a concrete ring beam so as not to damage any tree roots. The two accessible parking spaces, with electric car charging points, have been built on permeable asphalt to maintain rainwater access to the trees, as part of the sustainable drainage design.

Much of the existing block and brick was crushed up on site to back fill the amenity terrace, and the slates have been re-used on another project. Stone from existing retaining walls has been reused in new boundary walls.

A highly insulated timber frame from sustainable sources with larch and render cladding formed the basis of the new houses. The off-site panelisation ensured high quality construction and saw the superstructure completed in a few weeks.

Designed with a fabric first approach in mind, air source heat pumps provide heating and hot water, as well as comfort cooling, with photo-voltaic panels on the roof contributing to the electrical requirements. Air-tightness exceeds current building regulation best practice, and the predicted carbon emissions will be 60% less than building regulations. The predicted energy usage for the building will 12.2 kWh/m²/yr, which is less than a Passive House.

Foul drainage, electrical and telephone connections have been reused, and a planting scheme has been implemented to improve bio-diversity on the site. Bio-diversity has been further encouraged by including bat boxes in the roof and bird boxes on the trees.

Administered by:
H and H Land Estates

Affordable Housing Adviser:
Saffer Cooper Consultancy

Structural Engineers:
RG Parkins

Civil Engineers:
RG Parkins

Principal Designer:
RG Parkins

Sustainability, Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing Engineers:
Watt Energy and Consulting Engineers

Arboriculturist:
The Care of Trees

Cost Consultancy:
Saunders Quantity Surveyors

Main Contractor:
FJBS

Photography:
Stewart Smith Photography