Capital gains for Yorkshire-based brick maker

Completion of the Lancer Square development in the heart of London has marked a decade of York Handmade Brick’s involvement in reshaping the look of the capital.

During the past 10 years York Handmade has provided the bricks for some of London’s most prominent new buildings.

Apart from Lancer Square – a multi-million pound mixed-used development close to Kensington Place – the Easingwold-based manufacturer has supplied bricks for the Shard, London Bridge Station, London Bridge Place, Highgate School, Carmelite House on the Victoria Embankment, the redeveloped Highbury Stadium and One Molyneux Street in Marylebone.

York Handmade founder and chairman David Armitage said: “We are extremely proud to have played a key role in the reshaping of modern London over the past 10 years. It is wonderful to have a little bit of Yorkshire in the heart of the capital.

“The high-profile, award-winning commissions we have completed in London have led to new prestigious projects this year in Mayfair and elsewhere in the capital, which will further strengthen our position as the independent brick supplier of choice for London architects and developers.

“It is humbling to be part of a rich tradition in London, where brick continues to be in material that helps both residential and commercial buildings to bridge the divide between the traditional and the contemporary, as well as giving them a unique and individual look.”

Lancer Square is a 146,000 sq ft building, which is one of the largest residential, office and retail developments in the West End to be completed this year.

Armitage said: “This was an incredibly prestigious project for us and a great honour to provide so many bricks for such a landmark building in the heart of London”.

“It was crucial that the bricks we provided fitted in seamlessly with the magnificent Kensington Palace, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, which is just a few hundred yards away.”

York Handmade’s bricks are also a pivotal feature of the £92m One Molyneux Street building in Marylebone in London’s West End, which was also completed this year.

This five-storey building is the largest and most expensive traditional brick-built building to be constructed in the West End since the Edwardian era. It comprises 32 luxury one, two and three-bedroom apartments and duplexes.

For the Shard, York Handmade provided the bricks at its base, together with the bricks for the adjacent and restored London Bridge Station and London Bridge Place.

Armitage added: “Our other London projects have included the residential development of Arsenal’s old football ground at Highbury; the new offices of the global publisher Hachette on the Victoria Embankment and the new junior school at Highgate School in north London.

“The successful completion of these very varied commissions have given us immense pleasure, as well as the confidence to believe we can play an important role in creating attractive new buildings in London.”