Glasshouses at Orford Place

The Ham United Group (HUG) Architecture Walk around Orford Place included the substantial gardens and they were a big disappointment as they are no longer maintained to the same standard and some of the objects the sisters had to aid contemplation etc. had been removed.

The one saving grace is that the glasshouses in the kitchen garden have been retained and they showed healthy signs of use too.

The other disapointment is that it took a HUG event to get to see the gardens again when I understood that part of the conditions for the giving planning approval for Orford Place was allowing some public access. When it was St Michaels Convert they took part in Ham Open Gardens but the new owners did not do that. 

Orford Place

Thanks to a recent Ham United Group (HUG) Architecture Walk I was able to get into the grounds of Orford Place and to take this picture of the main building with the assistance of good sunlight and without the restriction of the front wall.

Also thanks to that walk, and out guide Richard Woolf, I learned a lot about the architecture of the site including how the older sash windows, those on the main building, are flush with the wall but the later ones, like those on the building on the right, are recessed. 

It was through clues like that that Richard was able to explain the history of the buildings though the evidence was not always clear and he pointed out a few examples where the sequence of the building was uncertain.

Minor works at Orford Place

Orford Place on Ham Common was completed less than two years ago and some minor repairs have already been necessary. I did not catch anyone working there so I do not know what the work was but the scaffolding was not there very long so it must have been relatively minor work.

New gates at Orford Place

The town houses in Orford Place that back onto Martingales Close now have some neat gates letting them get out of the development without having to walk all the way round the main house to the front entrance.

Amazingly the nimbys in Martingales Close objected to the new gates and Richmond Council agreed with them. Luckily the planning inspector had more sense and they were allowed on appeal. 

Entrance to Orford Place

This is another one of my opportunistic pictures taken through gates that are normally closed. This is a new gate and behind it lies a new path to the front door of the old part of the house.

Conserving the conservatory

The conservatory was a prominent feature of St Michaels Convent and while I was never able to go into it I appreciated it from outside many times. It is good to see that it is being retained as part of Orford Place where, I believe, it will be part of Unit 17.

Busy at Orford Place

Work is proceeding at pace at at Orford Place on both the new build and the refurbishment. The copious scaffolding on the main building is testament to that.

Refurbishment

Martingales Close remains the best place to monitor the work at Orford Place.

This is part of the original house that was there before the redevelopment started and it is being substantially refurbished. There are new windows and the brickwork has been repointed which is making it look more like the brand new block that has been built next to it.  

New entrance

Orford Place is getting a new entrance onto Ham Common. With many more people living there soon I think that it makes sense. I hear that there are plans to add further entrances onto Martingales Close for the new townhouses on that side of the development, which I think also makes sense.

New block at Orford Place

I quite like what they are doing at Orford Place (on Ham Common), at least from what I have been able to see of it so far. Part of that is to add a new block between one of the previous extensions and the new terrace houses that run along Martingales Road.

The brick colour is quite different (for reasons that escape me) but the new block is similar in scale and design so that it fits in neatly with its much older neighbour.

Refurbishment at Orford Place

Part of the scheme of Orford Place is the refurbishment of the main part of the original house and its earliest extensions. Externally there is not that much to see, which is a good thing.

Lots going on at Orford Place

Some building projects, such as Richmond Chase, seem to progress at a snail's pace whereas Orford Place is rising quickly with work going on across the site.

This view, from Martingales Close, shows something of the history of the main building that grew in large leaps from the original block in the centre of the picture.

This is the far end of the short row of townhouses on the Martingales Close side and beyond them is the carbon copy row in what was the middle of the garden.

Townhouses at Orford Place

The large development at Orford Place is a mix of refurbishment and rebuild, including a row of townhouses backing on to Martingales Close. I hope that they do justice to the old wall behind them.

Orford Place in miniature

Orford Place is the most interesting development locally (Richmond Chase is the largest) and I was an early visitor to the sales centre when I took this picture of a model of the development.

Ham Common is at the top of the picture and the original house is the lighter coloured building in the centre. The buildings on the left are existing ones but the two blocks on the bottom-right are new.

Obviously the specifications of these will be different to the refurbished units and that probably explains why five of the six units there have been reserved already. The one remaining unit, number 22, is described ad a two-bedroom house with sun room, balcony, terrace and garden, and is currently priced at £1,075,000. 

Early days at Orford Place

Orford Place on Ham Common is likely to feature here for some time to come because of the size and importance of the site. The first part of the site to be worked on was the building on the corner of Ham Common and Martingales Close.

Starting work on Orford Place

What was St Michaels Convent is being transformed in to Orford Place, "a collection of 23 elegant, new and beautifully-converted houses and apartments, set in three acres of mature gardens exclusively for the over 55s."

The work is starting in the south-east corner and it will be interesting to see how it turns out. I will be back regularly to see.