Case study of the Stockport Market Hall restoration

When first built in 1861 Stockport's covered market hall was known as 'the glass umbrella on stilts' as the glazed roof hung over open sides.

Ephriam Marks [a relative of the M&S' Marks] enclosed the sides of his stall there in 1898, to protect customers from the weather, and this encouraged others to follow suit until the whole of the market was enclosed.

Although now Grade 2-listed, the property risked demolition during the 1980s until a petition from tens of thousands of local residents and business owners convinced the council to give it a half million pound facelift.

More recently, however, it became apparent that a comprehensive refurbishment was necessary, and the decision was taken to apply for a Lottery grant to assist the works, to include not only the repair of the fabric of the structure, but refurbishment of the Victorian stalls within.

Melissa Marshall, Regeneration project officer of Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council (SMBC), the owner of the building, explains: "The Lottery grant is for £999,000 - to which we [SMBC] added the remainder of the project costs. A monitor from the Lottery checks the quality of works and the conservation side of things."

Design changes

Input from the National Lottery Commission (NLC) also changed some initial plans, such as the installation of an under-floor heating system. "When we were going through the design [with them], we had incorporated a different heating system, and it was felt that even though it involved a greater expense the under-floor heating was the way to go, as it would bring the building completely up-to-date and be the most efficient form of background heating," Marshall continues.

"It adds greater flexibility to the building - as we're creating a new open space for community events and evening activities we had to have a form of heating for those."

Currently home to some 40 market traders, it was important that business could continue throughout the 43-week project, but digging up the floor for the new slab, heating, and flagstones to be laid meant that stalls had to be temporarily squashed in to one side.

"Phase One covers two-thirds of the market stall area," says Marshall, "some stalls were vacant, some were able to relocate to Phase Two, some traders have gone in to the produce hall, and one has located herself in one of the empty shops in the market square. They are all used to trading inside. Everyone's been re-housed."

Roy Howland, area manager of Quadriga Concepts, explains why this amount of groundworks was carried out. "The excavation works involved removing the old hard-core, in two phases - there is a total floor area of 1,000m²."

The excavation was going to plan, until uncovered stones were identified as the remains of a cheese store, possibly from the late 1700s. Although one stone was removed to the Stockport Story, a local museum, it was not possible to incorporate those remaining, and they are now buried beneath the new floor.

Howland adds: "The archaeology didn't upset the programme too much, but it probably lost us four days. And we found a gas main, too, at one point, but it turned out to be from the old 1860s gas lighting - or we may have been replacing a lot more glass than we did!

"Removing 470m³ of hardcore was a bit of a problem because of the amount of vehicles back and to," he says. Vehicular access was restricted due to the market's town-centre location, narrow streets and bustling shopping crowds, and dawn skip-swapping was a feature. Market days, too, dictate when concrete pouring can take place.

This tight working space was one of the reasons that SMBC chose main contractor Quadriga. Marshall confirms: "We wanted the highest quality approach to the conservation work - it was very important to us because SMBC have won awards for other regeneration projects in this area we invited six contractors to interview, and had the Lottery monitor there to oversee the interviews. It was really Quadriga's experience working not only on historic buildings, but in tight urban settings basically managing people in a restricted site.

"We knew we had a tight programme, and it had to be done in that time frame - you've got market traders, the public, residents, all using this space and it had to be done to the highest professional standard, as well as the conservation works, that's where Quadriga stood out."

External works

External works include repainting metal framework, and replacement and repairs to woodwork, including resin and timber. Some 12 to 15 panels needed reglazing, and the roof required some retiling, although having been overhauled in the 1980s, these were in a reasonably good condition. The paintwork on the decorative reliefs will take a steady hand to replicate the original Victorian colours.

While from the outside it will be plain that the market looks fresher, it will be inside that impressive changes will have taken place.

Prior to these works, the layout was very cluttered, and stalls very tired - with one dating from the market's very early days. Although there will be fewer stalls, these will each have more space the oldest stall is to be renovated and repositioned within the renewed trading area.

As Howland explains: "with it being listed, there are restrictions with English Heritage the new stalls and the style of the repairs, etc, all have to be in keeping."

Marshall adds: "Looking at it from another point of view, because it is a historic building, the restrictions have meant that we've followed, in the design of the new stalls, very traditional kinds of architectural details to match the Victorian stalls that are still there - and that creates a different kind of atmosphere. It will be, in terms of a market building, quite different to some of the other kinds of market around the country. We're hoping that will add to the character and the appeal of trading out of the hall, and of people wanting to come to visit.

"One thing that is quite special about the project," she adds, "is the old timber roller shutters that we are reinstating on all of the stalls - only a handful of the stalls have their original shutters, and we wanted to replicate the moulding profile of those."

Search for experience

A nationwide search for the experience and quality needed for these ensued, resulting in HRJ Joinery building the stalls, and Syston Doors of Leicester making the new roller shutters and refurbishing the old ones.

While continuing as a market, it is hoped that the building will become more popular as a public area, incorporating a café, new seating, and an event space for exhibitions and demonstrations, to be open in the evenings as well.

Under pressure, working relationships can quickly turn bad, but Marshall concludes, in a way that would make most contractors extremely pleased, "I would like to impress that the communication between Quadriga, and the market manager [the user], and the client [SMBC], has been excellent up to this point - we couldn't have asked for anything better."

Factfile

Project Name: Stockport Covered Market Hall refurbishment

Client: Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council

Main Contractor: Quadriga Concepts

Architect: Buttress Fuller Alsop Williams

Value: £1.7m

Start/Finish Dates: Jan 2008 - Nov 2008