Restoration of Greggs in the town centre

By Chris Morris in the Bury Free Press August 30, 2024

It’s not often you find yourself on the roof of a major national British bakery chain, but this week Suffolk News reached those dizzy heights thanks to a team of specialist builders. Emmerson Critchley, based in Woolpit, is carrying out major and extensive repairs to a historic town centre building in Abbeygate Street, Bury St Edmunds, which houses Greggs. The exterior of the building is 19th Century, but timber construction inside dates back to the 17th century; and its location, in what is sometimes referred to as ‘The Bond Street of Bury’, is key to the town.

The Greggs store made national headlines last year when campaigners, including SuffolkNews, called for urgent action as the facade began to rot, paint began to peel and gutters overflow. The town’s tour guides and civic society, were embarrassed by what was once a showcase town centre building and called for repairs. Number 11 Abbeygate Street, is late Tudor/Georgian era. Its windows are Gothic. It was dubbed in the national press as ‘Britain’s poshest Greggs’ and ‘somewhere Harry Potter would eat’, if only it wasn’t falling apart at the seams.

Fast forward to August 2024 and Emmerson Critchley is in the midst of repairing and restoring the facade and structure of the building, so it once again proudly illustrates the rich history of the Suffolk market town. Emmerson Marshall-Critchley, founder of the award-winning traditional building company behind the repairs, invited us along to scale every floor to see how work has been progressing, since the team arrived last December. “When we are finished, there will be no niggles, nothing out of place, it will be perfect,” said Mr Marshall-Critchley. “It’s not going to be the same as it was before.

“The bulk of the work on the ground floor will stay the same. You will still see the ornate panelling and the wood graining effect.
“But overall we are making it cleaner, sleeker and more in keeping with its age; while at the same time keeping its future maintenance down and preserving it for hundreds of years to come.”

The work at the building is being carried in stages over three floors, including the roofing area. Work to rebuild the front panelling which was badly water damaged.

One of the main problems that occured was water ingress, also known as ‘penetrating damp’, which had led to holes appearing in the frontage, peeling paint, and structural damage in the timber beams and rafters. Emmerson Critchley, which has decades of experience in traditional building techniques for heritage and modern properties, spent three months investigating what could be repaired and what needed replacing to preserve the building’s heritage.

“The key thing with listed buildings is that rain water needs to be taken away – and it hasn’t been,” said Mr Marshall-Critchley, who is also a trustee of Bury Town Trust. “Apart from the the roof area, a main problem was that the rain had been travelling along a down pipe on the right of the building, which had been failing at the fitting. “It had been failing further because of a bucket, a quick fix, that had been foamed into place by the fire exit – and had been there for around 15 to 20 years. “That meant that all of the water trickled down, came through the cavity and rotted all of the low-level timber frame and panelling.

“Because we had water coming down, we were also dealing with water coming up. Water had been wicking because the panelling was hard against the floor. We have now redesigned that. “Below the Victorian windows, there were no green oak frames, so we had water gathering there too. “Now, all the ornate painting at the front has been knocked back for us to do the prep work in order to install an oil-based paint which will enable us to create graining effect. But we have lost some of the panels at ground level, due to water damage, which will be replaced, in keeping with the orginal design.”

Number 11 Abbeygate Street is owned by London-based D&A Limited, according the UK Land Registry. It is leased to Greggs, which is investing all of the money into the repairs. Greggs first took over the building when it acquired the Bakers Oven chain in May 1994. It renamed the stores to its own brand in 2008. It has has a second smaller store in Cornhill, where Emmerson Critchley is also carrying out restoration work.

Mr Marshall-Critchley said: “Greggs have been brilliant. They are investing a lot of money into this; they care about their buildings. The people who will benefit is the general public, as it’s going to have a whole new lease of life. “We are also taking out only what we need to, as the point about conservation is keeping as much of the original as a possible.

The roof was covered with a bitumen felt which has caused rotting within the rafters. “So as long as it is not structurally imposing, or there is enough life within the timber, we will leave it. We are splicing panels in and taking bits of rotten timber out. “We are not throwing away anything at the moment and keeping the panels because we need to get styles for the mouldings.

“On the first floor, we are currently restoring five windows. We want the whole facade to look like its been sharpened up, preserved and looked after as much as possible. “We have also discovered some beautiful features, one of which I am personally paying for it to be displayed as a gift to the people of Bury.”

The cellar too has also revealed some secrets. The remaining ornate mullion windows on the first floor illustrate the original building was founded in wealth and ‘built with money’, said Mr Marshall-Critchley. “The project has a fascinating journey also into the history of the building,” he said. “My uncle remembers it being called Olivers, a high-end deli, and the cellar shows you what it has had to adapt to over the years. “This building has been here since the 1600s. It could even pre-date that, and over hundreds of years it’s going to change hands and serve lots of different purposes.

“You can also see that over the years there have been countless repairs, given how old the building is. “It has a peg tile roof, with a hogs back ridge; a traditional Tudor roof. “Some of the the pegs tiles have holes in, which shows they have been repaired countless times, and have been turned around.

“The whole roof is also covered with a bitumen black felt which means that there is going to be a level of rot within the rafters, as the building sweats. “Buildings needs to breathe and we have used all traditional materials throughout, including lime. What they have done previously for the some of the repairs is absolutely abysmal.”

Emmerson Critchley is hoping to unveil the new-look store by Christmas.