CDC Studio

CHERRY HINTON HALL

The Hall was built for John and Mary Okes. John Okes, born in Cambridge in 1793, was a surgeon at Addenbrooke's Hospital. In 1824 they married and initially lived in Cambridge until 1831 when they purchased old enclosures at Mill End Close and the land at Mill End common.

In 1839, they built Cherry Hinton Hall on this land; the gardens were laid out after the hall was built.

John died in 1870 and the Cherry Hinton Estate was sold to the Cambridge University and Town Waterworks Company. The next resident of the Hall was one of the Directors of the Waterworks Company, Charles Balls.

Balls trained as a shoemaker and then a leather merchant. He grew wealthy and became Mayor of Cambridge in both 1858 and 1859. In the 1870’s he and his family moved out of the city to Cherry Hinton Hall. Hi wife Eliza died in 1876 and Charles remained there with his daughters until moving back into the city in 1888.

In 1902, Sir William Phene Neal and Lady Eleanor Vise Neal came to live in the Hall. Sir William had been a solicitor in London for many years. He and his wife, appear to have turned it into a dairy farm. In 1930, William became Lord Mayor of London and in the following year he received his knighthood.

In the 1930s, the City Council purchased the Hall and grounds, and it remains in their ownership. The building has been occupied by the Cambridge International School since 2008, and is currently the Oaks International School

Cherry Hinton Hall was constructed in 1839, in the Gothic Revival style. This approach to architectural design flourished in the UK as a defined ‘style’ from around 1830 to 1900. It celebrated close attention and re-use of stylistic characteristics from the Gothic period (broadly dated to the 12th-16th centuries, but the use of Gothic motifs had never really departed from British architecture. However, ‘Gothic Revival’ refers generally to a period in the 19th century during which there was a concerted coming together of opinion in the arts towards a more spiritual and traditional approach (which was considered to align with monarchism and conservatism), in contrast to the ‘rational’ Neoclassical or Georgian style, which was at that moment thought to be more republican and liberalist in its approach. As well as reflecting artistic preferences, Gothic Revival also bore political overtones. (Bidwells Heritage Statement)

KEY AIMS OF THE PROJECT

• Remove unsuitable extensions to building and reinstate clarity of original listed building
• New link extension between the two buildings
• Main office space adjacent to main entrance
• Reception at ground floor of main building
• Nursery at ground floor of cottage building
• Admin / specialist group learning space in Cottage building
• Year 1 and Year 2 at first floor level with access to shared external space below

MULTI-PURPOSE HALL

The multi-purpose building provides 100m2 of new accommodation and a large flexible open plan area. Its position helps create the courtyard and matches the cottage gable width and defines a threshold space for pupils before entering into the courtyard. Its calm brick exterior complement the brick on the Hall. Framed views provide connects across the couryard toward the glazed link.

THE GIANTS LIBRARY

The concept for the library is based on Giants reading room, with giant books and a giants chair. The oversized items create an exciting space for the pupils to enjoy books and stories, with places to sit and display.

Giants feature heaviliy in children literature, but the inspiration for this project came from investigations on Cherry Hinton Hall and surrounding areas. Within the park is a water pool whose island is locally known as Giant’s Grave, it is thought after the giant Gogmagog, which legend says lived nearby. The name may also have come from some Iron Age burials which were unearthed locally on Lime Kiln Hill, where the skeletons were unusually tall (Cherry Hinton Chronicle, 1854).

Cherry Hinton Hall is close to the Gog Magog Downs also known as the Gog Magog hills, a range of low chalk hills, extending for several miles to the southeast of Cambridge

OUTDOOR CLASSROOM

The outdoor classroom is a structure in the Early Years courtyard and was envisaged as a timber clad ‘temporary’ play-structure. It provides a covered play space with a slide and sandpit and focal point for the external landscape. A light weight structure, it was designed to contrast with the masonry boundary walls of the existing hall, cottage and proposed multi-purpose building.

A low structure, enclosured in the courtyard, the outdoor classroom has been designed not to be visible from the surrounding parkland. Its form has been simplified to a rectilinear profile with a cantilivering roof edge that emphasizes its lighweight nature.