Fermain Tower

F E R M A I N T O W E R

The loophole tower at Fermain Bay was built to guard the island against invaders in the late 18th century. Now it’s hoped the local landmark will welcome visitors rather than repel them. The National Trust property has been restored and refurbished to become unique visitor accommodation in an idyllic island spot. But while the location inspires guests to relax, we discovered that the project itself caused plenty of sleepless nights for those involved.

The Fermain Tower was gifted to the National Trust of Guernsey in 2002. Almost two decades later, it has opened its doors to the public, following a major project to regenerate the dilapidated old building into stylish self-catering accommodation.

The president of the National Trust, Tony Spruce, explained why the organisation was keen to pursue the renovation: “When I became president in 2016, my vision was that the Trust would become a more public-facing organisation. I wanted to do something which would allow the public to actually use one of our properties.”

Fermain Tower seemed the perfect project. Many heritage buildings in the UK have become Landmark Trust properties, offering unusual visitor accommodation. Local architectural and interior design practice, CCD was asked to take on the challenge of doing something similar with the tower.

Design director and architect, Oliver Westgarth explained their approach: “There is a general notion in architecture that it is important in conservation terms to give heritage buildings new life. With Fermain Tower, we thought that it should be done in a high quality way that ensured it was a luxury to stay in it, rather than just a novelty, tying in with the National Trust’s aim of engaging younger islanders with the organisation.”

With the decision made, the National Trust had to finance the restoration. A public fundraising appeal was launched, and Tony said they were delighted with the result: “Around 50% of the project costs came from public donations, which we are so grateful for as couldn’t have pursued this project without the support of our members and those individuals who donated. The remainder of the renovation costs came from our funds.”

Those funds were needed for a considerable amount of work. The tower first had to be stripped out and made safe. F Watson & Son came in and took away all the rotten materials from inside the building, removed the render and tanking, repointed the outside of the tower and added a canopy to protect the roof from further water ingress. Once that work was complete, the building was left to dry out for around 18 months.

Oliver explained why it took such a long time: “The walls of the tower are over a metre wide and they were completely saturated with water. The whole atmosphere was very salty and humid and so it needed a very long period to dry out. We set up low level heaters and used very powerful fans to circulate warm dry air and draw off the moisture. We hugely reduced the dampness in the walls, which will now self-manage their condition as they were designed to do. A structure like this is completely different to a modern cavity building – it is a living, breathing beast which you have to work with and accept that it will change slowly over time.”

While the tower dried out, plans progressed. Fundraising continued, the design was finalised and work was done with the authorities to ensure the correct permissions were in place. The tower is defined as a protected monument rather than a listed building, which, as Oliver explained, meant a little more flexibility in terms of the statutory permissions: “There were strict restrictions in terms of conservation and planning, but when it came to building control there were fairly unique opportunities. The work didn’t technically require a building licence, for example. However, we developed the technical design with building control as advisors and worked with them to ensure the building is safe. The end product allows strikingly innovative solutions, which enable the tiny spaces to work as they do.”

With plans in place for a basement wetroom, a ground floor kitchen and a first floor bedroom with ladder access to the roof deck, the work could start. A tender process saw R G Phillips appointed as contractors for the build. When they started on site early in 2018, their first job was to excavate the basement to form the wetroom.

RESTORATION VS CONSERVATION

Conservation: “the preservation and repair of archaeological, historical and cultural sites”

Restoration: “the action of returning something to a former condition”

The project at Fermain has been focused on conserving the existing fabric of the building and adding to it with striking, contemporary interventions. However, there were a few aspects of the building which needed recreating to reflect their appearance at a previous time in the tower’s history, but even these were carefully crafted.

A chimney was required, and it has been carefully rebuilt in accordance with photographs taken of the tower in the 19th century. A new front door was also a necessity, so when the builders found an armoured front door among the debris in the basement, it provided the inspiration for the replica which is now in place.

Additionally, windows have been installed with slimline brass frames to minimise their impact on the appearance of the structure – the tower would originally have had gaps rather than windows.

THE CONTRACTORS

• R G Phillips & Son • DLA Consulting Engineers • CCD Architects &

Interior Designers • F Watson & Son • Devil’s End Joinery • Fusion Engineering • Mega Electrical Services • Guernsey Sheet Metal • Stainless Steel Fabrications • Swan Joinery • L G Tiling • Lucy Brouard Design and Soft Furnishings • Bonsai Group • Norman Piette

Contract manager, Steve Bromley, said it was a challenging project from the start: “It was such a labour intensive job, especially at the beginning. The tower might look big from the outside but when you consider how thick the walls are, it’s a lot smaller inside that you might imagine. We couldn’t get any machinery in for digging so everything had to be done by hand and then taken out in buckets. Materials, and even tools, had to be downsized to get them through the door and able to work within the tower.”

R G Phillips were surprised to discover that, instead of the thick walls and low ground levels keeping water at bay, running water was jetting into the recently excavated areas of the building.

“We had to change the whole design and put in higher specification tanking and drainage plans. We also realised that we would need specialist pumps to access the cesspit. These delays set us back months right at the start but it was hugely important to get the tanking right,” said Oliver.

Once summer arrived, the neighbouring café’s opening hours meant any noisy work had to be completed before 10am, and it was important to the Trust to work sympathetically to the peaceful setting. Although there were many challenges of this kind, the biggest challenge was simply the minute scale of the interior of the tower and the logistical challenges that this presented daily. “We all described it as trying to build a whole house in a bathroom,” said Steve.

“Usually when a job has been hit with delays, you can put more people on site. But in the tower you simply couldn’t have very many people in there working at the same time. Once a couple of people were in with their toolboxes and equipment, there was no room for anybody or anything else.” Oliver agreed that it was a real challenge of the project: “Logistically it was very difficult. It was the first time any of us had been involved in something on such a uniquely minute scale. Whilst the individuals faced daily challenges, they all persevered because ultimately everyone believed passionately in the project. The individual craftsmen and tradesmen appreciated being involved in such a special build and it means a lot to all of us. There was a real camaraderie on site.”

With the basement complete, work started on creating the kitchen, living

and bedroom space. In such a small area, every detail had been carefully and skilfully considered by Oliver and his team, from the bespoke hatch and ship’s style staircase going down to the wetroom to the ladder leading up to the very top of the building.

“I think people staying there should think of it a little like staying on a boat, and not just because of the size. You have to work with the building and be happy to open hatches and latches. It has been designed to be an interactive experience full of magic and intrigue,” said Oliver.

While the work inside was a priority, those involved were very aware that it was the outside surroundings that many visitors would be looking to enjoy. The terrace can be accessed through a glass rooflight, which added its own challenges. “It’s one of the most complicated things in the building, as it’s a very intricate piece of machinery which can be walked on, opens electrically and is elegant as a product,” said Oliver.

With the tower now a couple of months into its use by the public, the team is enjoying looking back at the finished product and hearing users’ feedback. For Steve, it was a job they are proud to have been involved with: “It’s such a unique offering and we feel privileged to have worked on it. When we first went in and saw how damp and dark it was, it was hard to imagine what we were going to create. But as we progressed and saw Oliver’s vision take shape it was very satisfying.” While Tony says the delays were frustrating, he is also delighted with the finished result. “As the National Trust we wanted to do it in the right way, this wasn’t supposed to be a cheap and cheerful job. It’s turned out beautifully and we think it’s going to be a very special experience for people to stay there.”

‘Unique’ is a description that comes up time and time again when speaking to those involved with the Fermain Tower project. But while it was a one-off, there is the hope that other towers around the island’s coastline could be converted in a similar way, so the skills and lessons learned here could be put to good use again in the future.

THE TALE OF THE TOWER

The Fermain Loophole Tower is one of 15 pre-Martello towers built in Guernsey between August 1778 and March 1779. The British Government authorised the construction of the towers as part of the wider defence of the island against France, after they became an ally of the Americans during the American War of Independence.

The towers were numbered anticlockwise from St Peter Port and this is therefore tower no. 15, known locally as Fermain Tower. Many, although not all, of the other 14 towers remain standing around the perimeter of the island.

The Ferguson family lived in the structure in the 1860s and Charles William Ferguson was born in the tower in 1869. In the late 1880s the Mallett family conducted a catering business from the tower.

For much of the 20th century, a ferry service run by the Ferguson family brought boatloads of visitors from Town to Fermain Bay, making it one of the most popular bathing spots in the island until the service stopped in the 1990s.

The tower was bequeathed to the National Trust of Guernsey in 2002 by Percy Ferguson.

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

The limited space within the tower meant that every part of the interior design had to be carefully considered to maximise its use. The solution – a single piece of furniture that would combine staircase and storage, while being a feature in its own right. Local craftsman Jez Le Tissier of Devil’s End Joinery was responsible for the copious amounts of joinery at Ferman Tower.

The list of Jez Le Tissier’s responsibilities at Ferman Tower is a long one. He manufactured the staircase, kitchen and the upper balustrade. The ladder down to the wetroom. The hatches and bespoke tables, to CCD’s detailed designs. Altogether, he calculates he spent 1,229 hours of his life working on the project. But Jez said that despite the commitment, it was a hugely rewarding project.

“It was a complex job, and at the start I perhaps didn’t appreciate quite how complicated it would be. It was such a unique job, which created more challenging situations than I’d ever come across before. But it was very appealing as a professional challenge. When I saw the plans for the tower they really inspired me and I knew it was a project I wanted to be involved with.”

While very little about working in the tower was easy, the most complicated part from a joinery aspect was the staircase that leads from the entry level up to bedroom. Oliver described his vision for the furniture: “From the start of the project, this was never going to be just a spiral staircase. The intention was always that it would be one piece of furniture that would provide access throughout the building. The modern contemporary construction would contrast the fabric of the old building. That juxtaposition of old and new is a standard approach in architecture, and we felt it was one that suited this building well.”

Creating one piece of furniture to fit the small space was undoubtedly going to be a challenge. For Jez, the first thing he did was recreate the floor space of the tower in his workshop. Once he had the plans laid out in full size on the floor, he could begin to craft the furniture, while always considering the necessity to get the units into the small building.

Oliver believes there were real advantages to this approach: “Because it was made the oldfashioned way by a skilled craftsman, Jez was able to work with the quirks of the building and make any appropriate changes as the project progressed. But while the methods were classic, we also took a modern approach as the fine joinery was done using cost-effective materials such as birch plywood.”

Jez admits that although he had carefully measured and planned the furniture, when it came to actually fitting it in the tower, he had a few moments of concern. “The section sizes that I’d made the staircase in were crucial and I knew we should get it in, but I couldn’t help holding my breath a few times. It was very tight, and obviously you can’t just take a window out if it ends up being too much of a squeeze.”

Despite those worries, the team did manage to get all the pieces into the structure, leaving Jez’s craftsmanship to be used and appreciated by the visitors coming to enjoy the tower.

STAY AT THE TOWER

The Fermain Tower can be booked for short stays through Guernsey Self Catering at a cost of £180 per night. Weekend stays are for a minimum of three nights, while two nights’ accommodation can be reserved during the week. A permit parking space is available next to the tower for guests.

The accommodation is only suitable for able-bodied, safety-conscious adults and there is a minimum age of 25 for anyone staying in the tower.

For more information visit www.nationaltrust.gg or www.selfcatering.gg