Royal Clarence Yard

The team at English Heritage was very supportive… we could approach English Heritage with the knowledge that we could easily agree a solution. Their guidance throughout the project was certainly a benefit as we were able to maintain the balance between historic architecture and contemporary living. Lee Gault, Technical Manager, Berkeley Homes (Southern) Limited

English Heritage was closely involved in all stages of the project, and in many cases was the ‘voice of reason’, providing invaluable guidance on many complex issues. David Hills, Project Architect, John Thompson Architects

Gosport is Portsmouth’s sister town, facing it across a harbour that is the historic home of the British Navy. A dozen of the mighty Georgian buildings at Royal Clarence Yard, the Navy’s victualling station from the 18th century, are listed and much of the site is within a conservation area. These buildings now form the framework for a £100 million regeneration scheme that has brought together the historic and the modern, creating a series of attractive squares and creating a new residential community on Gosport’s waterfront.

Throughout the scheme, John Thompson Architects used studies of the archaeology and history of the site initiated by English Heritage and Gosport Borough Council, as well as conservation advice on the types of new development that could be accommodated. New designs were created that responded to the historic architecture. Minor structures were retained where they reinforced the historic significance of the Yard. Berkeley Homes were open to being persuaded that the oldest buildings in the Yard, though less monumental and unlisted, had an important role to play in the final successful scheme.

The buildings at Royal Clarence Yard tell a vivid story of the logistics that supported Nelson’s navy. At the Granary, grain was stored; at the Bakery next door ship’s biscuits were made. Combined with other structures dedicated to the storage of rum, water and beef, they kept alive a navy at sea. Several are now residential apartments and the Granary and the Bakery are now a gym and a restaurant.

A carefully designed new building to one side of the larger blocks on the site balances and complements the older structures, enhancing their appearance from the waterfront. The new architecture has re-connected disparate historic buildings in a bold but respectful way.