£1.5m renovation to restore listed mansion in Holland Park
By Julia Gregory, Local Democracy Reporter
A £1.5m package of renovation works will start to restore a Grade-I listed mansion in a popular London park from a national list of buildings at risk.
Kensington and Chelsea council will spend the money on the Jacobean Holland House in the centre of Holland Park.
One wing of the building is used as a hostel by holiday makers, while Opera Holland Park also uses part of it as a store.
The 17th-century house is of “considerable architectural and historic importance”, according to English Heritage, and was badly damaged during the Second World War.
It said the building was in a poor condition and needed “considerable maintenance”.
Problems include water damage, which has caused stone to chip.
The council earmarked £1.5m to repair the building after it joined the ‘At Risk’ register last year.
It asked specialist historical stonemasons, a roofing company and a structural engineer to look at the damage.
They said the problems were far worse than initially thought.
The council is now spending money to repair the damage and on maintenance to prevent more problems.
It plans to get the work under way this year and during quieter times to limit disruption.
And it plans to get the work done in two phases, bidding for more money next year.
This should mean Opera Holland Park could run its summer programme of open air entertainment, pandemic permitting.
The second phase of work should start in September next year and be finished by March 2022.
Pictured top: Holland House, in Holland Park
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