THE FORMER HARBOUR BOOKSHOP, DARTMOUTH

The former Harbour Bookshop, once owned by Christopher Robin Milne – son of Winnie the Pooh author AA Milne, occupied the first two floors of 11-12 Fairfax Place, a Grade II 3 storey listed building situated at the junction of Newcomen Road and Fairfax Place, in Dartmouth.

The project involved the refurbishment and fit out of the ground floor of the property into a commercial unit (now occupied by the Whistlefish Gallery.) Work to the ground floor also included a small extension to the rear which incorporated external storage space back into the shop premises.

The first floor was then converted into a 2 bedroom flat, accessed separately off Newcomen Road. As the building was listed, an important aspect of the work involved the retention and refurbishment of important historical features, for example the timber wall paneling, fire places and stair joinery.

External works were carried out to the building as a whole, which included the removal of the existing asbestos roof tiles, and replacing with natural (Lugo) slates, refurbishment of existing roof joinery to include cornicing, frieze, fascia etc., refurbishment of the existing sliding sash windows and making good and redecoration of the external walls.