Discussing and Developing My Proposal

Following on from my research, my proposal for Wymering Manor is to take a similar route as the 14 Henrietta Street Museum; restoring, protecting, and adapting the manor into a museum. 

Reflecting on my demographic research, adapting Wymering Manor into a museum is the best choice as the manor is located in a significantly uneducated and unemployed area. This gives the local community job opportunities and access to local history and self education. Additionally, this will bring the community together and will be a new heritage attraction that the local community can be proud of. The manor is located in the middle of a large area of housing, which has very few attractions or shops. From this, installing a café within the museum will increase popularity, visitors, and additional job opportunities. 

The manor will need extensive work to make it structurally safe; support beams will need to be installed, especially in the drawing room, dining room, queens room, loft and most of second floor. The staircase from first to second floor will need more structural support as its sunken. A foundation of sorts will need to be installed to protect the manor from dampness, rot, and the deathwatch beetles, wood treatment will need to take place as well to further protect the manor. Restoration will be needed for the interior and exterior walls, floors and roof, ideally the donated carpet that runs through the manor will be removed and the original flooring restored - if possible - or replaced by a replica. The windows and doors should be evaluated if they are suitable to be restored, or replaced with a replica. The current wiring and technology should be revaluated, and replaced with wireless technology to minimise the loss and changes being made. Any technology or wiring that cannot be made wireless should be carefully considered and installed in hidden spaces; under the floor, in cavity walls etc. Technology that cannot be hidden - light switches, light fixtures etc. - should be made and adapted into a style that fits the manor, so that they don't look out of place and an eyesore. Taking steps like these will ensure that the manor is safe and stable enough to function safely as a museum, as well as turning the manor into its own artefact.

Throughout the restoration and protection process, the manor should be treated with respect, and each step carefully discussed with conservationists, client, and architects. Any materials that need removing should be reused within the museum, as a artefact or adapted into an interactive element. The cost of restoration and development of the manor will be steep, ideally funding will be given by Portsmouth City council and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Below are adjacency diagrams of protentional layouts of the manor as a museum with a cafe: 

These three different adjacency diagrams are the least invasive for the manor in terms of changing the current layout, plumbing, wiring, and room functions. As the manor has already undergone different developments, it would be most suitable to develop a design plan that doesn't require too much change.

I believe that out of the three, the first one would be best to use as a starting point for the layout of the museum. This is because the café and kitchen are located furthest away from the museum allowing a distinct difference in functions of the ground floor, as well as the kitchen space was originally a kitchen in the manor, which I find to be a nice 'reunion' of function of the space. The reception and staff area are connected, allowing the public vs private areas to be clear. It also allows the rest of the manor to have an abundance of space to display artefacts and have exhibitions.