Situated on Borough High Street, the historic and characterful Albion House originally began its life as home to Gainsford and Company in 1819, a locally run silk mercers, drapers and house furnishing business.
In 1895, The Albion House Clothing Company moved their operations to Borough High Street, as one of their many London trading locations. Their original livery is still present on the side of the building to this day, reading ‘The monster ready-made and bespoke clothing establishment’.
As well as their London operations, the company also had an international presence in Paris, Antwerp and Ghent. The company traded at Albion House until 1910, eventually closing its doors completely in 1942, with the second world war having taken its toll on the business.
Today, Albion House has a very different purpose, as home to ‘St Christopher’s at the Village’; contemporary styled and award-winning accommodation which hosts tourists from across the world wanting to experience and explore everything London has to offer, in a central location.
With a desire to upgrade the standard of accommodation they offered, within the conservation rules governing the preservation of the structure, while also maximising the potential of their property portfolio, Mumford & Wood were selected for new sash windows to be installed in Albion House.
Ian Allerston of Daniel Hurd Associates, an award winning architectural firm brought on board for Albion House comments “I had seen advertisements for Mumford & Wood in numerous publications in the past. I arranged to meet with a member of their team and was thoroughly convinced that they had the expertise, knowledge base and focus on customer service that was essential for this project. The proposed windows were also within our budget which was excellent”.
He further explains “Albion House falls within Southwark Council’s ‘Borough High Street Conservation Area’ who informed us that any replacement windows needed to look as similar as possible to the mostly single glazed, slender profiled originals being removed, as well as provide superior double glazing performance and acoustic benefits”.
The Mumford & Wood range was able to meet these requirements. Elegant and authentic sash windows make the most of the city views while allowing guests to leave the bustle of the city on the outside.
“Everything from Mumford & Wood happened exactly to the schedule, arriving factory finished and factory glazed, and they were installed by our contractor without issue” Ian comments.
“These new windows have substantially enhanced the appearance of the building and perfectly compliment the recently refurbished bedrooms. The traditional feel has been retained while the thermal and acoustic performance of the building has significantly improved”.
