
Charles Brooking, Architectural Historian & Consultant
Transitional and exciting progress has been made over the last 2 years for both the principal ‘Brooking’ Museum now situated at Whitchurch in Hampshire and in relation to my own teaching gallery here at Cranleigh. My partner, Susan and I have produced our first handbook entitled: ‘A Brief Introduction to Georgian Building Details’, which includes window and door ironmongery, sash windows, glazing-bar profiles, shutters, fanlights, fire-grates and rainwater goods, which act as a useful dating and development guide to enlighten people and to celebrate the ingenuity, craftsmanship and design that went into everyday building details. This guide is a compilation of the articles we have written for ‘The Georgian’, the in-house magazine published by the Georgian Group who are based in Fitzroy Square, London.

We have recently expanded this handbook to include Georgian and Regency front doors and their ironmongery – just in time for The Listed Property Show to be held at Olympia, London, at the end of January, where we will be staging a small exhibition and selling copies of our guide. I am greatly indebted to Susan who transforms my dictation into Oxford-standard English, which she practised in her former positions in Guildford during the 1980’s-90’s.
The handbook has proved very popular with conservation professionals and owners of 18th and early 19th century houses. We have stressed the importance of recognising and preserving seemingly insignificant details, such as door-knobs, knockers, latches, locks, keyhole escutcheons and of course, windows, all of which are subject to unnecessary loss, often through lack of knowledge.

We hope to greatly increase work on the publishing side in due course and are currently in discussions with an architect from a leading London conservation practice and ‘The Brooking’ charity’s Trustees in relation to the production of an enlarged guide-book embracing the period c. 1690-1939, when the majority of the UK’s housing stock was constructed.
In between this work we have been obliged to engage in a major re-roofing and repair programme of several of the outbuildings here at our Cranleigh site owing to the increased rainfall and water ingress over this past year. We have replaced vulnerable felt roofs with long-lasting green-tinted profiled steel sheeting which, both performance-wise and aesthetically, are far superior. Needless to say, this has turned out to be a frightfully expensive exercise but one that has proved to be a wise decision in the long-term during the wettest year I can remember.

We have hosted here at Cranleigh team visits from some prestigious and inspirational bodies, such as Historic England, Historic Royal Palaces, Winchester City Council and more recently, Oxford Archaeology, and the Properties Section from Buckingham Palace. Several of these groups have also participated in the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses we operate at Cranleigh. Other visitors have included students of architecture undertaking theses, one of which was majoring on the development of the English wrought-iron and steel window over the last 500 years. For a list of the available CPD courses, please visit my consultancy website: www.cbah.uk
The development work at the principal ‘Brooking’ Museum in Whitchurch is progressing apace with the recent installation of specially designed racking in which to store and display the many historic doors that I have recovered over the last 55 years from all types of UK buildings undergoing alteration or demolition.

Anna Bishop, ‘The Brooking’ charity’s Project Lead, is assembling a team of volunteers to assist with the sorting of the joinery collections at the Whitchurch site, which include staircase elements, door and window sections, mouldings, skirtings and architraves, etc. The mouldings form a unique reference library of 18” sections of these profiles, dating from 1670 onwards, originating from all types of buildings, which has proved on numerous past occasions to be invaluable to the various joinery companies wishing to reproduce correct period designs. I visit the Whitchurch site on average once a week for ‘knowledge-capture’ sessions which are filmed and recorded by Anna, covering the development of the project, my philosophy in creating the museum in the first instance, and the history of the individual items within the collections.
I manage my separate teaching collection at Cranleigh which is on loan from the charity’s Trustees, as everything (apart from my now very extensive [and growing] research library), has been gifted by me to the charity.

My sister Rosemary Hurtley, one of ‘The Brooking’ charity’s 10 Trustees, is utilising her considerable experience in public relations to assist them in their exploration of the various opportunities open to the charity. Rosemary now explains the charity’s ethos:-
‘The Brooking’ celebrates craft, design and innovation in our built environment. Our unique collections breathe life into architecture, unlock stories of the past, educate, excite, inspire and provoke interesting questions.
At last this truly enormous architectural archive, which took one year to relocate from its temporary store in nearby Ellens Green, now has a permanent home near Andover, in Hampshire.

It has been a great privilege to be part of ‘The Brooking’ charity which owns what is considered to be the largest collection of British architectural detail in the UK, spanning over 5 centuries of design and making. Charles has rescued the majority of the artefacts with his bare hands and his encyclopaedic knowledge of each object’s provenance and history is being captured on film, in recordings and in writing. Every object offers a glimpse into the past and artefacts in the Cranleigh teaching gallery have also inspired artists, sculptors and designers over the years.
The charity is delighted to have recruited such an able and young set of ambitious Trustees bringing their diverse range of skills to the table, along with the Project Lead, Anna Bishop, who is administering the Velux Window Company of Copenhagen’s charitable Villum Foundation grant, overseeing collection management, ‘knowledge-capture’ and volunteer engagement. The Chair of Trustees is Professor Peter Stewart, art historian, classical archaeologist and Professor of Ancient Art, who is directing Oxford University’s Classical Art Research Centre.
Once the best model for applying the collections to educational purposes and for the display of architectural details has been achieved, the charity’s final vision will be an unrivalled, fully accessible, national resource centre celebrating craftsmanship, construction and innovation and one which will appeal to a diverse audience. The focus will be on education, training courses, design and the appreciation of the importance of preserving the often less obvious details of historic buildings.

We as Trustees, are interested in developing collaborations and partnerships with joint initiatives with relevant organisations and it is very exciting to be involved at the early developmental stage of this truly unique project.
Charles has preserved so much material of national importance, of which I am immensely proud, which will provide a vital resource for all those involved in the care and repair of historic buildings and their fabric and of interest to a wider audience of artists and designers.’
In August 2024, the owners of an early 19th century house in Ewhurst, kindly donated highly unusual Regency decorative windows from the principal façade, which played on the ‘Greek Revival’ elongated diamond motif combined with rosettes and margin-lights, these being constructed of cast-lead and tinned-iron.

In September 2024, we received some very important donations from the Guildford Museum, who are reducing their collections prior to relocating their stores. These donations have included a magnificent fanlight of c. 1800-1810 from ‘The Firs’, a large detached town-house which originally stood on the site of what is now ‘G-Live’ in London Road, Guildford and a series of ‘duck-nest’ hob-grates, ranging from the 1770’s to the 1790’s. These grates originated from buildings both in and around Guildford, including Shalford House and possibly, Allen House, that once stood opposite the Royal Grammar School in Guildford’s Upper High Street, demolished in 1965.
The Guildford Museum also kindly donated an extremely fine front door dating from the early 17th century, from a house in Castle Arch, Guildford, that later became part of the Guildford Museum. This door was replicated around 40 years ago when the original door was removed.
Another major, very important donation during October 2024, was an entire architectural library numbering over 1,000 books gifted by Dr Hentie Louw, formerly of Newcastle University, who has made a lifetime’s study of European and early sash windows, whom I have known since the mid-1970’s. He has written several books on the subject. This donation involved a trip with a colleague in a Luton van to Greater Manchester where Dr Louw now lives to collect the library archive, which also included papers, slides and photographs. This will form an important addition to the research library here at Cranleigh.

At around the same time, the Senior Historic Buildings Officer, Chris Reynolds, of Surrey County Council, arranged for the removal and donation of important folding Crittall steel windows from the neo-Georgian former Officers’ Mess at Kenley Aerodrome, Whyteleafe, Surrey, built in 1925, that is presently being converted to apartments. Kenley Aerodrome played a pivotal role in the Battle of Britain during the summer of 1940.
These windows are fitted with Espagnolette bolts with cast-bronze handles and mechanisms, which are also illustrated in my c. 1926 beautifully-bound Crittall trade catalogue. These early trade catalogues have proved very popular with both visitors and researchers. These windows will be on display, both at Cranleigh and Whitchurch, in due course.
In November 2024, the property developers and demolition contractors, John F Hunt Ltd of London, generously donated examples of typical ‘Pull-and-Push’ grip-handles of the mid-1960’s with stylised 60’s lettering, from the former Debenhams store at Millbrook, Guildford, soon to be demolished, built as ‘Plummers’ store between 1963-67.

I have been advised by many conservation professionals to expand certain aspects of my area of study into the post-war period, up to as late as 1970! When recovering pieces from a building, such as Debenhams, which I clearly remember being built, it feels somewhat strange, but do not let my own aesthetic ‘likes and dislikes’ interfere with the integrity of the project.
Just prior to Christmas 2024, I also received important donations from various historic royal palaces, which included 1820’s shutters and late-17th to early 19th century door furniture.
The planned further relocations of material from our Cranleigh site to the new museum in Whitchurch, not required for the local displays, will create more room for specialist exhibitions at my Cranleigh teaching gallery, including the work of important 19th century architects who practised locally, such as George Edmund Street, Henry Woodyer, (the designer of Cranleigh School), Richard Norman Shaw and Sir Edwin Lutyens, amongst others.

Once the first relocation has commenced, I will require assistance in unpacking the various stores at Cranleigh in order to decide which material to retain here or send to Whitchurch. I would greatly welcome any offers from interested parties wishing to volunteer, both in an advisory capacity and/or physically, who could assist in this work. I am very willing to pay for the physical aspect of the work, which is considerable.
I would also like to thank Michael Wilson and the many local home-owners and companies, such as P&P Glass and Bramley Windows, amongst others, who have generously made countless donations to ‘The Brooking’ Museum charity over the last 35 years and also St Catherine’s School, Bramley, and Cranleigh School for their donations in recent years.

In summer 2024, we were visited by Marianne Suhr, a conservation professional, and her teenage son Max, a budding film-maker, who were keen to produce a film about my life, clips of which were shown at the very successful ‘Through the Looking Glass – The Future for Historic Windows’ conference held at The Royal Agricultural University, near Cirencester. After the conference I led a walk around the glorious Cotswold stone town highlighting the surviving historic window details of all periods, which was great fun, ending up at a local hostelry. Readers may recall that Marianne Suhr featured in the ‘Restoration’ TV series in the early 2000’s alongside Ptolemy Dean and Griff Rhys-Jones.
While visiting the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul last October, on an architectural tour of the city, I was surprised when speaking to an American visitor, to discover that she was already familiar with ‘The Brooking’ Museum. There appear to be opportunities to develop links with similar overseas architectural collections.
I also undertook some fascinating consultancy work in 2024, which included visits to 3 large houses in the Cotswolds, identifying the less obvious surviving features to enable their correct repair and conversion.

Another interesting project was a late-17th century manor-house on the Hampshire/Wiltshire borders where I was commissioned to produce a detailed report on the important surviving historic fabric. The property had been occupied by an eccentric for the last 60 years or so, each room having been left waist-high in rubbish, which apparently took the contractor weeks to clear prior to our visit! Underneath all the accumulated layers of paint was a fine late 17th century oak staircase, original oak doors and panelling. The windows retained their original blacksmith-made wrought-iron casements and leaded-lights – presenting a challenge in terms of double-glazing, in the ensuing restoration programme.
The process is both enriching and inspiring from several viewpoints, as one never knows what one might encounter in terms of an unusual detail, quite apart from the social history aspect! My ‘flame of passion’ for architectural detail has now burnt brightly for over 65 years and continues to bring endless wonder and satisfaction.
Recently, after attending Joy Horn’s excellent talk on Edwardian Cranleigh, I realised how well represented Cranleigh is in ’The Brooking’ Museum, quite apart from the pieces gifted by Cranleigh School over the years, and the items from the former Rex Cinema on Cranleigh Common.
The museum holds Gothic and ‘Arts & Crafts’ doors from both the former village school, now The Cranleigh Arts Centre, and the present village hall, cast-iron windows from cottages in both the Horsham and Ewhurst Roads, possibly made locally, a late 17th century wrought-iron window from Greencroft Lodge – a 16th century house in the Ewhurst Road, and three fine narrow Italianate arched sash windows from the left-hand lodge that stood on the corner of Knowle Lane and the High Street, that was built by the owner of Knowle Park around 1838 in the then fashionable Italianate style, this lodge being one of a pair. It had later been converted to a shop and much altered, and was demolished in 1984. Two of these windows had possibly been sealed-up when the adjoining property was built in around 1905, and retained their typical 19th century paint finish, which was a variation of what was known as ‘drab’ (dull brown). I discovered the windows under layers of wallpaper, the outsides having been bricked-up.

Other pieces include late 1930’s ironmongery and fittings from the former Co-Op building constructed in 1939, fine ‘Arts & Crafts’ leaded-light windows from ‘Wyphurst’, from the 1910 extensions, staircase baluster is c. 1835-40 from Baynards House, Horsham Road, and many other pieces donated by home-owners over the last 26 years.
After ‘Manns’ store closed, the former Managing Director, Richard Womack, very kindly donated a collection of early 20th century ironmongery catalogues to ’The Brooking’ research library at Cranleigh. This included a marvellous 1926 trade catalogue for the famous Archibald Kenrick & Sons company of West Bromwich, one of the largest producers of architectural ironmongery, amongst other domestic items of the 19th and early 20th centuries. This has since proved an invaluable resource as the collection contains many of their ironmongery products.
Lastly, I would like to thank my partner, Susan, who has been a tower of strength and inspiration over the last 28 years.
Charles Brooking – Architectural Historian and Consultant & Founder of ‘The Brooking’ Museum
Tel: (01483) 274 203
www.cbah.uk