Cala Homes is playing a significant role in bringing this new community to life, with a unique collection of two bedroom apartments and three and four bedroom homes, set in an exclusive community overlooking the former Cambridge Military Hospital.
At the heart of the Cala development will be the careful restoration of the McGrigor Barracks, which were originally built in 1892 and became the station for the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1897.
Derek Brentnall, Associate Director of Thrive Architects, explains how the conversion of the barracks not only retained an important part of the town’s rich military history, but also provided the architectural inspiration for the new homes at ‘Cala at Wellesley’.
The McGrigor Barracks are the last original Victorian barracks remaining on the site. Their sensitive restoration by Cala Homes creates a unique collection of properties and a distinctive residential area within the wider Wellesley masterplan.
The barracks were originally built for the Royal Army Medical Corps for military staff serving and training at the Cambridge Military Hospital. They were named after Sir James McGrigor, who was the Duke of Wellington’s Surgeon General. McGrigor is credited with improving the conditions of military medical care and having a lasting impact on the standard of medicine in the British Army.
The buildings are the only surviving examples of a popular style of Victorian barracks from the 1890s. They are unique in being the only buildings left on the site which housed the ordinary private soldier. Around 108 men would sleep, eat and live in each barrack, equating to around 30 in each house!
Soldiers would have been posted here for two to three years, so thousands would have passed through these buildings, spending their working lives here and completing their training before being posted to camps abroad.
The retention of the barracks honours the memory of those soldiers by bringing the buildings into the 21st century and marking a new chapter in their rich history. The restored barracks will offer something to new residents that only an old building can; the feeling that your present is a part of a continuing story.
The appearance and materials of the converted barracks has influenced the design of the new build properties around them. The aim for the McGrigor Village was to create a unique sense of place with character properties creating framed vistas of the grand 19th century Cambridge Military Hospital.
The barrack buildings feature traditional red brick, Welsh slate roofing, York paving stones and cast iron pipes and guttering from the ironworks of the North of England. The newly-refurbished buildings comprise one four-bedroom detached house and 10 three and four-bedroom terraced villas.
The subdivision into single houses respects the original internal arrangement of the barrack dormitories. All of the notable external features were retained by careful internal planning; for example converting original windows to form the front doors, and making certain that retained sash windows became features in principal rooms.
New additions have been made sympathetically, such as the new arched openings in the family rooms that give direct access to the back garden, which are made of soft red brick to match the originals; and the selection of contemporary style front door canopies, with the use of glass for minimal impact on the original walls. The properties ooze Victorian character and charm with high ceilings, low sills and tall windows which allow light to flood in.
This style of barrack buildings will never be constructed again. Their conversion into new homes by Cala is a respectful nod to their history and to the role played by the soldiers who stayed in them. As a new community is created at Wellesley, it is also a reminder of the important role that the built environment plays in connecting us to our past.
For more information, visit our Cala at Wellesley page or call our sales team on 01252 755944.
