The well-known Liberty store with its Tudor revival main entrance on Great Marlborough Street didn’t come about until the 1920s. Construction began in 1924 and used timber recycled from the ships HMS Hindustan and HMS Impregnable. The frontage has the same length as the Hindustan. The weathervane on top of the store bears a model of the Mayflower, the ship that brought the Pilgrims to America.

The restoration and refurbishment of the Liberty Store has been a long time in gestation, and is the first major overhaul it has had since it was built almost 100 years ago. “Iconic” is a much over-used word these days; but it is entirely appropriate for the Grade II* (“star”) listed building that has been a London and international landmark since it was first built.

Liberty is one of the world’s most renowned department stores. Located off bustling Regent’s Street in the heart of London’s West End, it’s a location with a rich history of selling high-quality homeware and fashion with timeless, universal appeal. Liberty’s is a Tudor Revival building and was construct in the 1920s incorporating 24000 cubic feet of ancient ships timbers sourced from two three decker battle ships.

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BR London was commissioned at the end of 2019 to carry out the multi-million pound façade and roof refurbishment of this iconic building, including the overhauling of over 1,500 leaded light windows as well as undertaking the contractor design of the building’s 3nr roof lanterns over the stores atriums. The work also included paint-stripping of the façade’s rendered panels, teak timber panels and intricate carvings followed by joinery repairs and complete redecoration. The stonework repairs were carried out by DBR’s skilled stonemasons. Other fine examples of DBR’ s high levels of craftsmanship on the project included the conservation repair of the Mayflower weathervane and the internal decorative plaster panels to one of the atriums. The repair and renewal of the roof gullies, lead flashings, decorative downpipes and hoppers was all carried out as part of this contract along with an extensive mechanical and electrical package of works.

After 24 months of work, DBR London finished this magnificent conservation undertaking in 2021.

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Take a look at this project on Instagram.

More projects by DBR London teams can be found here.