White Lodge scaffolding for essential repairs
Regular walkers in Richmond Park may have noticed White Lodge is gradually disappearing behind a cloak of scaffolding.
We are working with Heritage England and London Borough of Richmond upon Thames to carefully pair the stonework, windows and roof on the central King’s Building, constructed in 1730.
The work is due for completion in October 2018 and until then the building will be masked by scaffolding and netting to protect the young ballet dancers who live and train there.
As part of the restoration, stones that have deteriorated will be reinforced but not replaced. It is important that repairs made over the years show the history and evolution of the building rather than masking it. All the windows will have a draught exclusion system fitted to them, which will greatly reduce our carbon footprint. There will also be repairs made to the roof and lead work.
The Royal Ballet School has been resident at White Lodge, a Grade I listed building, since 1955. Students aged 11-16 carry out their vocational training there, while our older students (16-19 years) train in Covent Garden.
To see photos of the building without the scaffolding take a look through our Flickr album below: