The conversion of a former orphanage into luxury apartments has been hailed by the Lord Mayor of Bristol.
The Lord Mayor, Councillor Faruk Choudhury, was on hand as part of a ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open Allen House; a £5.5 million scheme by Charles Church Severn Valley.
Hosted by Carl Haley, managing director for the Bristol housebuilder, and attended by local dignitaries, the event put the spotlight on the sympathetic conversion of the historic Grade II listed building, which boasts a cantilever staircase covering three storeys.
The total renovation of the Victoria orphanage into one, two and three bedroom homes took over 14 weeks to complete, as Mr Haley explained: “Allen House is an important building for Bristol and as such needed a sympathetic conversion that not only met our high standards, but retained its historical significance.
“It was an honour to show the Lord Mayor around the stunning homes we have created at Allen House. We are very proud of our work here as we believe we have safeguarded an historic building for many years to come.
“We now look forward to welcoming those who have already registered their interest in this unique property. And with schemes such as Help to Buy and NewBuy available to assist purchasers, we don’t anticipate these apartments will be on the market for long.”
Allen House, in Ashley Down Road, was built in the 19th century and was originally one of five orphan houses, three of which – Cabot House, Davy House, and Brunel House – are currently used by the City of Bristol College. The fourth, Muller House, has been turned into flats.
It was the first of the five barrack-type orphanage buildings to be built with donated money from 1847 to 1870 by Prussian philanthropist George Muller. After the last house had been built in 1870, Muller found himself caring for 2,000 children.