Company provides building blocks for £1m renovation project
A North Yorkshire business has played a significant role in a £1m restoration project with a strong connection to Charles Dickens.
York Handmade Brick Company has been working with York Conservation Trust to renovate 69-71 Micklegate in the city.
The building was once the office of 19th century railway engineer John Birkinshaw, whose clerk Richard Chicken was a famous eccentric regarded by many as the inspiration for Mr Micawber.
Micawber, one of Dickens’ most memorable creations, is a leading character in his classic novel David Copperfield. Chicken worked with Dickens’ brother Alfred in the railway engineer’s office.
Alun Nixon, of York Handmade Brick, said: “It was both a pleasure and an honour to work on such a prestigious project with York Conservation Trust.
“York is a city brimming with history, but it was still a fascinating surprise to discover this Dickens connection.
“We provided the Conservation Trust with £20,000 worth of our popular Old Clamp Blend bricks to build Trinity Cottage, together with a boundary wall, at the rear of 69-71 Micklegate.
“The building is now completed and is a holiday let, managed by Wheelwrights, whose offices are in 69-71 Micklegate itself.”
Guy Armitage
Guy Armitage, managing director of York Handmade, added: “This has been our second recent high-profile collaboration with the Conservation Trust, following the acclaimed restoration of 14 Lendal, now occupied by the House of Trembling Madness.”
The Trust bought the Grade II* listed building – a Georgian remodelling of an earlier late-medieval timber-framed building – in 2013.
In 2014 it announced plans for a major renovation of the building, but the redevelopment was held up by the need for listed building consents.
Now work on 69-71 Micklegate has been completed. The main building comprises two ground floor shops, with three apartments above and Trinity Cottage at the rear, where a modern extension has been demolished.
Guy Bowyer, architect with the York Conservation Trust, said: “York Conservation Trust were very happy with the quality of bricks and service received by York Handmade.
“We are lucky to have such a good local resource for high-quality handmade bricks and we are happy to keep working together in the future.”
