Every Building Has a Story

Working from Cedar House, Buxton's headquarters, it's easy to forget that we're surrounded by more than 900 years of building history.

Just across the road stands St Lawrence's Church. Dating from around AD 1095, it is one of Surrey's oldest churches. To put that into context, it was built less than 30 years after the Norman Conquest of 1066, at a time when the events depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry would still have been within living memory.

Look closely and you can see that history in the building itself. Norman flint and Reigate stone sit alongside later medieval additions, with each generation adapting the church to meet new needs while retaining what came before. More than 900 years later, those changes are still visible.

It's something we see on many of the heritage projects we deliver. Historic buildings are rarely preserved exactly as they were. They have been repaired, altered and extended over centuries, with every intervention becoming part of their story.

Cedar House has followed a similar path. Originally the Rectory serving St Lawrence's Church, it has evolved over hundreds of years before becoming Buxton's home. One of its most distinctive features is the oak Plague Door, studded with 549 iron nails. Local tradition suggests each nail represents a victim of a plague outbreak in Caterham, although its true origin remains uncertain. Like many historic buildings, some of its stories remain open to interpretation.

• 

• 

Working in a building like this is a constant reminder that conservation isn't about preserving a building exactly as it was. It's about understanding its significance, recognising how it has evolved and ensuring any new work respects both its history and its future.

Sometimes the best reminder of why conservation matters isn't on one of our projects.

It's the building we walk into every morning.