Consent secured for the adaptive reuse of Grade II listed former bank in Hertford

Squire Heritage Consulting has provided heritage advice for the conversion and refurbishment of 102–104 Fore Street, a Grade II listed former bank in the historic centre of Hertford.

Planning permission and listed building consent have been secured for its reuse as office accommodation, including the removal of unsympathetic later interventions, reinstating elements of the historic circulation, restoration of architectural features and refurbishment of surviving windows.

The late nineteenth-century building has a distinctive Renaissance-style stone frontage to Fore Street, while its interior and rear ranges had undergone substantial alteration. Historic research, site investigation and analysis of the surviving fabric helped establish the building’s development and identify those elements of greatest architectural and historic significance.

This understanding informed the proposals, allowing change to be concentrated in less sensitive areas while conserving the principal spaces, architectural detailing and distinctive character of the former bank.

The project demonstrates how an understanding of significance can inform adaptive reuse, allowing a listed commercial building to evolve while restoring and better revealing important elements of its architectural character.