Brewhouse, Bushy Park, Teddington
The Brewhouse was designed in the architectural manner of Upper Lodge which was built by Lord Halifax in 1710. It is constructed in facebrick with red rubbing brick margins to the corners of the building and edges of windows. Constructed at the same time as the house, it would originally have been an active brewery on the estate, providing the staple drink for the household of Upper Lodge.
The Brewhouse project was part of the restoration proposals for the Water Gardens to Upper Lodge, to include it in the landscape as seen from the Water Gardens, by the thinning out of vegetation in order to recreate the vista shown in the 18th century Bogdani painting.
The building was surveyed, measured drawings and a detailed condition report was produced with a schedule of repairs and proposals. The conservation of the building included brickwork cleaning and repairs, removal of graffiti and partial repointing of some elevations. The clay tile roof was repaired, leadwork renewed and external joinery overhauled and decorated. The security of the building was improved by the installation of metal trellis grilles to windows to the same pattern as the previous ones. A new French drain was installed around the edge of the building to dispose of the rainwater from the roof and to deal with the rising damp from the high-water table.
Internally, the modern concrete floor was removed in the main room as this was causing dampness to rise up the walls and damaging the building. This was replaced by a lime concrete floor which allowed the walls to breath. The design philosophy for the interior was one of minimum intervention, so as to leave it much as existing. An electricity supply was brought into the building, which provided lighting, background heating, power for displays and for alarms.