Two fortunate CovSoc committee members were given a tour of the ongoing conservation work at the Chace Hotel last week, courtesy of Nick and Tim Cockburn, directors of the Distinct Group.
The hotel was a hive of activity with 40 – 50 workers doing a host of jobs, climbing over scaffolding, painting windows, sawing wood, connecting pipes and wiring up rooms.
The renovation of the façade is almost complete and is faithful to the late nineteenth century original, almost all of which had survived. Amazingly this included most of the stained glass.
The Grade II Listed mansion, converted to a hotel in 1930, is being restored to create a boutique heritage hotel with 68 beds.
The Chace was completed in 1897 as an opulent country residence for Dr Charles Webb Iliffe, a prominent figure in the local community who worked for 40 years as coroner for Coventry and North Warwickshire.
At that time, the grounds extended to 120 acres, though more than half were farmed.
Remarkably, much of the inside of the hotel remains from the original mansion and the conservation approach is mainly about stripping back to the original features and restoring the damage caused by age, weather and previous building work.
For example, in the previous pub area, part of the 1930 hotel extension, the “medieval” timber beams and features are being stripped out to reveal a rather attractive ceiling and previously covered windows to create a more attractive and lighter space for a bistro area.
Many of the original fireplaces remain in place. On the ground floor a large, wooded framed, one dominates the reception area, whilst in the upstairs bedrooms there are smaller cast iron ones with beautiful Victorian tiles. Some magnificent wooden fitting have been found behind a covering of hardboard.
The original mansion has had many extensions during its life as a hotel. The most recent block stands out as a bit of a concrete eyesore. There are plans to re-clad the exterior of this to make it look more appropriate to the setting of a listed building. This will be subject of a planning application shortly.
Up on the roof of the mansion, a unique set of finials has been replaced and restored. Two dragons and a bird now stand guard over the building. The image of the three finials forms the hotel’s logo.
Some of the paintings and prints from the previous hotel have been rescued for re-use. These include a magnificent painting of a dancing woman dominating the main staircase. It is said to be a painting of Annie, Charles Iliffe’s wife, dressed as Titania, Queen of the Fairies from Midsummer Night’s Drea. There is also a large coloured print of a rather grand Victorian gentleman – could this be Charles Iliffe?
The grounds of the hotel are also receiving attention. They had become overgrown with leylandii, which has now been cleared out to create the space for a new landscaping scheme and to reveal the ancient trees that date back to before the house was built.
The hotel is being renovated by the Distinct Group, which now has four heritage hotels around the country, including the Bedford Swan and the Hotel Cromwell in Stevenage. The latest restoration has been the Brownsover Hall Hotel near Rugby, a Grade II* listed Victorian Gothic Style mansion.
It is planned to re-open the Chace Hotel early next year. We can’t wait!
