Listed Lincoln Boys’ Home Brought Back to Life

SHEFFIELD-BASED Martin-Brooks have helped transform a dilapidated former boys’ home in Lincoln into a modern centre of learning.

The firm re-roofed the grade II listed, St Hugh’s, 23 Newport House, near the city centre as part of a project to create a new science laboratory for the city’s university.

Working with main contractors, Woodhead Heritage, Martin-Brooks used salvaged Welsh slate and clay pantiles to re-cover the pitched roofs on the imposing structure, which dates from the late 18^th century. All leadwork was also renewed and new conservation windows installed. The project took eight weeks to complete.

Listed Lincoln Boys’ Home

St Hugh’s is believed to stand on the site of an Augustinian friary and may contain fragments of medieval walling in its foundations. The property was most notably opened by the Church of England Waifs and Strays Society as a home for boys in 1896, accommodating 36 boys of 7 to 12-years-old. By the 1960s, it had become a hostel and it was eventually closed in 1972. Since then, it has been used as office accommodation, but most recently had fallen into disrepair.

Dale Wright, Martin-Brooks’ contracts director, said: “St Hugh’s is a handsome property and thoroughly deserving of a new lease of life. Mid-19^th and 20^th century additions made the project a little more complicated, as we had to source two salvaged roofing materials, but the finished product has been worth the effort. It is now ready to welcome new visitors and begin another chapter in its rich history.”