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We came across 64 All Saints Road, Warwick in 2011 when we were looking for a Victorian property with at least 3 good sized bedrooms, a decent garden, located in the Warwick area. And near good schools. At the time we had renovated and sold a 2-bed end of terrace Victorian property in Leamington Spa and needed the extra room for our daughter. The “measure” for the garden was that it could fit in our daughter's trampoline! No. 64 had the 3 bedrooms that we wanted plus a second-floor attic bedroom and a good-sized garden. The house had lacked maintenance for many years and was clearly in need of TLC. It was obvious that the roof needed work and the windows needed replacement. As often happens, we only became aware of the true extent of the repairs after we started the internal renovations. No. 64 looked very sad as the result of an inappropriate “paint-job” on the outside as seen below. We put in an offer and were successful.  

Origins and Early History

Built by the Nelson family, our lovely house, 64 All Saints Road in Warwick—originally referred to as one of the “Managers’ Villas”—is steeped in the industrial heritage of the Emscote area and closely tied to the legacy of the Nelson family, who were instrumental in shaping Warwick’s development during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Nelsons were prominent figures in Warwick’s industrial scene, particularly through their gelatine factory, cement works and other manufacturing ventures alongside the Grand Union Canal. Using concrete block technology (advanced for its time) they constructed the two semi-detached Managers Villas on what was to become All Saints Road as well as series of smaller but still substantial 3 bedroom semi-detached homes along Charles Street to house managers and senior staff employed in their businesses. The location of the new buildings are shown on the old map. Built in 1893, no.64 was unique for its time in that it was built using large concrete blocks measuring about 10” x 10” x 20” each weighing about 70lbs. It is one of a pair of semi-detached houses known originally as the Managers’ Villas. They were built by the Nelson family, well-known in the area and who owned several businesses alongside the nearby Grand Union canal. The main business was a gelatine factory – a commodity much in demand for the preservation of fruits brought to England by the family owned shipping company. Another of the family businesses was a cement works in nearby Stockton – know better known as Rugby Cement - hence a ready supply of cement to make the concrete blocks for the house. Besides the two Managers’ Villas, the Nelson’s built a further 10 pairs of smaller semi-detached properties for its factory workers along nearby Charles Street. At the rear of the property, the garden level is about 5’ lower than the house and neighbouring properties. The sub-soil is mostly sand and gravel so we believe that the concrete blocks were made on site using this sand and gravel and cement supplied by the family business. This use of local materials was highly sustainable and really set the scene for our sustainability objectives during the renovations.

 Once we had moved in we could establish the true extent of the work needed to remediate and restore our lovely new home to its former self, whilst modernising the layout to suit a 21st century lifestyle. The damp issues were due to leaky roofs, rotten gutters, poorly maintained plumbing, cracks due to tree roots and severely compromised damp-proof course. First job was to replace the entire roof. To be sustainable we re-used as many of the original tiles as possible and bought similar reclaimed tiles to replace broken ones. At the same time we repaired the frost-damaged original concrete verges and window-sills. We replaced any rotted structural timbers and installed additional steel reinforcements to the purlins in anticipation of opening up / utilising the loft space and proposed solar panel installation. We took the opportunity to install Velux units to introduce light into the stair-well, into the second-floor house-keepers bedroom and into the redundant loft space. We installed insulation between all the rafters, air gaps and breathable membrane to ensure adequate ventilation. We commissioned replacement sash windows for the entire house. Originally softwood, all were victims of the damp and neglect. At significant expense we specified hardwood frames, weighted sashes and double glazing. Plastic just would not have been suitable and in our opinion always looks – well, like plastic! The windows finally arrived and were fitted in November – this was particularly challenging for us as I was being treated for breast cancer at the time so having cold and very draughty rooms during the works was not ideal. Once fitted things were much cosier and energy-efficient so worth all the effort! 13 years on after a lick of paint they look as good as new! Internally, the house was entirely re-wired – the old being a mix of 1920’s (installed when the original gas lighting was replaced) and 1970’s systems. We took care to conceal all wiring – meaning a lot of plaster remedial works needed. Once completed we could get on with the internal renovations and internal layout changes. We submitted plans for substantial extensions, one to the rear to give us a generous open-plan kitchen / dining / leisure area, and family bathroom / additional bedroom on first floor., the second to the side 

The Victorian Era: A House Full of Life 

The original layout suited a typically Victorian “well-to-do” family lifestyle with large lounge, dining room, 3 double bedrooms and small bathroom for the family occupants, kitchen and a smaller second floor bedroom for the house-keeper. During the plaster renovations we discovered the original bell-pull tubes and wires that led from each room the kitchen and the house-keeper’s bedroom. The original kitchen had been converted to a small dining room, at same time removing the chimney breast and what was probably an old cooking range. The old pantry had been converted to a narrow dark galley kitchen / utility – not meeting my expectations for a spacious open-plan cooking, dining and relaxation space. The need for a decent kitchen and family bathroom was the main driver for my plans to build a large 2-storey 70 m2 extension at the rear of the property to both create the large open-plan kitchen I wanted as well as a family bathroom and a fifth bedroom. My plans incorporated a further extension to the side that replaced the existing dilapidated detached garage with a new garage / workshop and a sixth bedroom with ensuite above. My husband, Richard, who is a chartered engineer, drew up the plans, did the structural calculations for bi-folding door openings and concealed beams to allow a column-free kitchen area and vaulted ceilings in the bedrooms. We also set a target of improving the overall EPC rating from E to C – pretty ambitious for a large Victorian house with solid walls and large windows. To achieve this we specified insulating blockwork and a large 100mm cavity for the walls and insulation for ceilings and floors. With all this in mind we applied for planning permission – again Richard completed all the necessary drawings, specifications, structural calculations, design and needs statement, bat survey, landscaping and a schedule for the building works to avoid disturbing nesting birds – phew! For my part I was kept very busy looking after Daisy, decorating the rooms as soon as the plaster was dry, making curtains, choosing tiles and floor-coverings and sourcing antiques and artefacts both for my developing antiques business and for functional / feature pieces.