Phoenix from the Ashes: Restoration of a Forgotten Monument on the Isle of Sheppey
Sheerness Dockyard Church awarded the coveted Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) 2024 award. NBJ are delighted to have had the opportunity to be involved with the specialist joinery on the project.
Tidal, dangerous waters with unexploded explosives. New Volkswagens and ripening bananas stored in large containers nearby. A once skeletal church structure, heavily damaged by fire. Threaded together by their connection to an old naval dockyard, this setting is where a Grade II listed former church was resurrected in win a top prize presented by the RICS.
At the tip of the Thames Estuary on the Isle of Sheppey, you’ll find a small town that welcomes you with the statement: “Welcome to Sheerness. You’ll have a blast!” A mural accompanies these cautionary words, showing a mermaid hands-on with a detonation plunger, preparing to liquidate a shipwreck, “Monty”, behind her. Welcome to Sheerness indeed – enjoy the beach!
Sheerness has become well known in recent years for its commercial port, importing new motors and vast quantities of new fruit and other fresh produce. The busy dockyard has created an industrial backdrop to this marshy part of the peninsula, but has history offering far more depth, where once upon a time, formidable battle ships sailed the murky Thames waters. Casting back to the late seventeenth century, a new ship was commissioned, HMS Sheerness, a three masted frigate with 24 cannons, sailing far and for many years in the golden age of British naval power. This was the first of many warships built at the Royal Navy Dockyard, with at least another thirty HMS ships following in its tracks, extending to HMS Cadmus, the final new naval boat launched from this yard in 1903.
Sheerness’s Royal Naval Dockyard was in a South-East England trio, which also included yards at Chatham on the banks of the River Medway, and another in Deptford, Greenwich. These docks created a hive of activity and employment, with a vibrant community of shipwrights, sailmakers, builders and carpenters. Impressive buildings were built, many of which are still standing. Tragically, however, several other important listed buildings were demolished following the Royal Dockyards’ closures, including Admiralty House and the Quadrangular Storehouse in Sheerness.
Nestled amongst the remains of the old Sheerness naval base is the Dockyard Church, originally designed by George Ledwell Taylor and constructed in 1828. The neo-classical building, grand but austere, proved to be an integral part of the community with its imposing clock tower and Palladian influenced portico. The church building has had its fair share of troubles, being struck by a fire in 1881 - and again in 2001, when a major fire ripped through the structure, leaving the internals completely gutted. The future appeared bleak for Sheerness Dockyard Church, and for nearly two decades, it remained on Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register and the World Monuments Fund Watch List.
Ruinous buildings often will not make a return. That’s why the story and recent events at Sheerness Dockyard Church are special, with a community pulling together to reinvigorate and reinvent the building for modern times. The Sheerness Dockyard Preservation Trust (SDPT) is responsible for leading the charge to revamp the previously dilapidated relic, chaired by a true heritage champion, architectural historian, conservation specialist and local resident, Will Palin. SDPT were able to obtain the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, plus other trusts, grants and foundations to raise an impressive £9.5 million, an enormous fundraising achievement.
The SDPT received the keys to what remained of the church in 2013. It would be another 10 years before the efforts concluded with the completion of the new community centre, built by heritage and restoration specialist Coniston - and designed in a collaboration between Hugh Broughton Architects and Martin Ashley Architects.
The building works included extensive structural and facade repairs, new roof, a fully rebuilt stone cantilevered staircase, as well as contemporary interventions to suit the intended new purpose, providing a combination of workspaces and community space to serve local young people and new businesses.
Having been put forward by Hugh Broughton Architects, after working together at the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, NBJ were approached by Coniston in mid-2022 to visit site, tender and were subsequently appointed for the specialist joinery works, comprising new heritage doorsets (to match the previously destroyed doors in the fire) and internal wall panelling to the entrance lobby, contemplation room and meeting rooms. Given Sheerness Dockyard’s intertwined history with Chatham, it was determined that the main new entrance doorsets would be based on those Royal Dock Chatham Church, which meant Taylor’s original design intent would be carried across (with Taylor having designed and commissioned many buildings at Chatham and Deptford).
In June 2022, NBJ visited Chatham’s church to review and carefully record the detailing, layout and proportions included on the historical solid-wood panelled doorsets. Primarily doorsets on building externals are one of the important features that can distinguish a façade, particularly on Georgian (and Victorian) buildings where panelled doors are seen as critical features. Georgian design principles can be defined by the blend of classicism, symmetry, and refined elegance, with principle external doors tending to of solid construction, featuring four, six or eight panels, embellished with mouldings or raised features. Typically, the central feature door will be flanked by symmetrical windows, or in Sheerness’s case for the East Elevation Vestibule doors, another two doorsets are positioned on each side.
Due to the extent of oak panelling in the Contemplation Space, a fire retardment finish was required for added protection against spread of flame. The selection of the best fire retardant product can be difficult and requires a balance between offering the right level of fire performance, while maintaining an aesthetically pleasing surface coating. We utilised our experience working with Hugh Broughton Architects to select a product that still maintained the natural beauty of the oak, while providing the fire resistant properties.
Other internal features carried out by Coniston are further examples of the heritage being conserved, such as the fluted cast iron columns on the upper level, fragments of decorative plaster being retained and stabilised, original brickwork being left exposed and original stone tiles re-laid. Contemporary additions include the polished concrete floor with underfloor heating integrated and glazed partitions forming the meeting rooms, while filling the voluminous space with light. Open-plan workspaces are provided on the upper tier, built to the original footprint of the original tiered seating galleries.
After its completion in 2023, Sheerness Dockyard Church has become critically acclaimed, securing the RICS’s UK Project of the Year 2024. The RICS judges recognised the outstanding quality of the scheme, commenting:
“[…] The team have achieved a delicate balance, authentically restoring the historic fabric whilst re-presenting the interior to suit its new civic purpose, working together since 2017 to deliver this exemplary heritage-led regeneration scheme.”
Sheerness Dockyard Church has also won the Georgian Award for Best Reuse of a Georgian Building 2023; and, included on the prestigious RIBA MacEwen 2024 shortlist, eventually secured by the well-deserved Hope Street project.
Congratulations to the Sheerness Dockyard Preservation Trust, Hugh Broughton Architects, Martin Ashley Architects, Coniston and the whole project team on this achievement. We are pleased to have had an opportunity to play a small role by providing specialist joinery for this meticulous and sensitive reconstruction of Sheerness Dockyard Church, which has provided a building with renewed civic and social purpose, which among other uses, helps local young people establish business and encourages entrepreneurship.
