News
Fulham Palace Wins Major Award
A major project to restore Fulham Palace to its former glory has won a prestigious award at a ceremony described as the Oscars of the built and natural environment.
The innovative scheme at the Grade One listed building came first in the conservation category for the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) London Awards beating other major, high-profile restoration projects such as St Pancras Station and the Royal Festival Hall. The project was particularly acclaimed for its value for money and for its balance of sustainability, usability and affordability.
The project also came in overall runner-up across all of the four categories at the ceremony. As runner-up it will now compete in the grand finals for the national RICS award in October.
The RICS awards recognise excellence, value for money and a commitment to sustainability. They celebrate every aspect of rural and urban regeneration and reward those organisations and individuals developing and conserving the environment.
Fulham Palace was owned by the Bishops of London for over 1300 years. It became vacant in 1975 and is now managed jointly by Hammersmith & Fulham Council and the Fulham Palace Trust.
In summer of 2003 the Council undertook a borough-wide consultation on the future of Fulham Palace and its grounds. The Council received extensive feedback on how the public wanted to see the site develop from many stakeholders including the Fulham Society, Friends of Fulham Palace, The Fulham Architectural Rescue Group and the Hammersmith & Fulham Historic Building Group. A Palace director was recruited and a strategic masterplan for the Palace’s phased restoration and reuse was created.
The emphasis was placed on providing the tax payer with value for money, securing the Palace with a sustainable source of income, community benefit, bringing abandoned areas back into use and ensuring that the fabric of the Grade One listed historic building was not compromised.
The first phase of the scheme saw the Fulham Palace museum enhanced and linked to the Palace. An art gallery and restaurant was created, a functions facility was built and office space was provided. This cost a total of £4.5 million, with the council providing £1.4 million, the Heritage Lottery Fund £3.026 million, and the Fulham Palace Trust £60,000.
Cllr Frances Stainton, Cabinet Member for Culture and Heritage, said: "I am delighted and indeed proud that this project has won such a prestigious award. It really is wonderful that after a lot of work and the aid of the Heritage Lottery Fund we have been able to restore Fulham Palace to its former glory. Residents and visitors to Hammersmith and Fulham will benefit enormously from the regeneration of arguably the borough’s finest asset. The restoration will enable us the create a borough of opportunity by ensuring that people, whether local or from far and wide can enjoy the palace at many level, which can include holding wedding receptions, attending education classes in the museum or just admiring the beautiful architecture. This really is wonderful news. I am delighted and would like to extend my congratulations to all who have made it possible."
Scott Cooper, Director of Fulham Palace, said: "I am thrilled that the Palace has won such a highly-respected award that recognises the innovative and brave approach by the council. It has been a very challenging project but everything now seems to be coming together. Our café will be relaunched in early June and the gallery will be hosting the prestigious Terry O’Neill photography awards later in the year. The museum is also going from strength to strength and we have many more exciting plans for the future."
These further plans include the intention to improve the walled garden, vinery, stables and Gothic Lodge. The council has applied to the Heritage Lottery Fund for funding for this under its Bishops Park improvements plans and expects to hear back in September.
Once that work has been completed, the council hopes to restore the Tudor West Quadrangle, create more museum space and provide more rooms for functions.
Barry Woodman, Chairman of RICS Awards London Region Judges said: "Although tucked away in a surprisingly rural location on the banks of the Thames, this amazing complex of historic buildings appeared to have rather lost their way since the Bishops of London moved out and the site was acquired by the local Council. With the appointment of an enthusiastic Director, and successful efforts to obtain funding for the restoration, work could at last proceed to rescue the grade 1 listed buildings. Great emphasis was placed upon the need for the facilities to be self-supporting as far as possible in the future and some bold but far-sighted decisions have been incorporated to relieve the local tax payers of further liability."
Drawing on the Wind Launched at Fulham Palace
Thursday June 10, 2009
The grounds of Fulham Palace will be the venue for a year-long free sculpture exhibition by the world-renowned sculptor Peter Logan.
Peter Logan’s imaginative work includes kinetic sculptures which bring new life to tree stumps which were victims of the hurricane that hit the Palace grounds some years ago.
The exhibition is entitled ‘Drawing on the Wind’ and following the official opening by Sir Norman Rosenthal of the Royal Academy of Arts, on Wednesday June 17, will be open to the public. It will be the first sculpture exhibition to take place in the grounds of Fulham Palace. The exhibition is sponsored by the Linbury Trust and the Monument Trust and supported by the council and the Friends of Fulham Palace.
Cllr Frances Stainton, cabinet member for Parks, Culture and Heritage, said: “This is just the sort of event we want to offer following the great investment both the Heritage Lottery Fund and H&F Council are contributing. This makes Fulham Palace a joy for all and a perfect place to host just such a prestigious, thought provoking exhibition.
“I am sure the sculptures will attract much attention over the coming year and I look forward with relish to the opening night.”
No other London authority is making this sort of contribution to sculptury. We hope to facilitate both indoor and outdoor exhibitions for all to see.
The sculptures will be exhibited for a full twelve months to include each of the four seasons. Seven sculptures will be installed initially and with each season new sculptures will appear, timed to reflect the changing year.
Peter Logan’s sculptures move from the very moment of their creation as models in his studio, made from fragile materials, teased into movement with a gentle push of the finger. Once a movement captures the imagination of the artist, it is developed into a small sculpture. The sculptures are then engineered to move when the least breath of wind takes them and are constructed from materials to reflect and respond to their environment.
The positioning of the garden sculptures will be informed by the quality of light and conditions of the wind. Some of the sculptures will each emerge from stumps to occupy the space yielded by the trees lost in recent storms.
Cllr Stainton added: "We are delighted to offer the renowned Peter Logan this opportunity to give many people the chance to see his evocative work unfolding through the four seasons."
For more information, call the Palace on 020 7736 3233.