Music Returns to Whiteley Hall
We’re delighted to announce our historic Whiteley Hall is once again fit for use thanks to a £1m rebuild project led by construction consultancy Gateley Vinden and Buttress Architects.
A fire in 2021, which saw all boarding school students safely evacuated from the accommodation above Whiteley Hall, meant that the hall was unusable and the school gym also suffered water damage from extinguishing the flames. Gateley Vinden was appointed as the lead consultant to provide insurance claims, building surveying and project management services for the rebuild project.
The team has delivered a like-for-like reinstatement project for our Grade II listed building. This even included collaborating with a conservation officer who took samples of the ceiling for lab testing to ensure a 100 per cent colour match of the original paintwork.
While the colour palette and original features have been reinstated, the fresh redecoration has provided a much brighter and more welcoming feel to Whiteley Hall, giving our talented students even more stunning spaces for performances. There have also been some minor cosmetic improvements including a new reclaimed timber floor, as well as upgrading the lighting system to include Bluetooth operation for a better system going forward.
Tim Aitchison, Director and Head of Building Consultancy at Gateley Vinden, said:
“This was a challenging and complex insurance reinstatement project. It saw our specialist team needing to manage several key stakeholders throughout the process, as well as producing innovative solutions to overcome statutory heritage conservation requirements as a listed building. We’re really pleased with the finished result of Whiteley Hall and look forward to seeing the school put the building back into use.”
Tom Redmond, Joint Principal and Director of Music at Chetham’s School of Music, said:
“We are enormously grateful to Gateley Vinden for their expertise and dedication in bringing Whiteley Hall back to life. Reinstating such a historically significant building while the rest of our busy school remained open was no small feat, and their team navigated the process with great professionalism and care. We are thrilled to be able to look forward to welcoming our students and community back into Whiteley Hall for school assemblies, orchestra rehearsals and public concerts.”
Our first music course of the year saw the Whiteley Hall reopened with performances from the Chetham’s Philharmonic Orchestra and ensembles this October. We are so pleased to have this key part of our school beautifully restored for many generations of students to enjoy.
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