Images: www.philboorman.co.uk
Kresen Kernow Archive Centre
Cornwall’s new archive centre, Kresen
Kernow (Cornwall Centre), opened for
research visits. Designed and delivered
by Purcell, the UK’s leading heritage and
conservation architects, the scheme
safeguards the historic Redruth Brewery
building at the heart of the Cornish Mining
World Heritage Site, revitalising the complex
which is home to 1.5 million manuscripts,
books and documents spanning 850 years of
Cornwall’s history.
Kresen Kernow brings together the world’s
largest source of information and artefacts
recording the people, places, history and
culture of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
Purcell has renovated the site of the former
Rudruth Brewery – a collection of industrial
buildings which had been developed at
various times during a period of over 200
years but which had laid derelict since the
brewery closed in 2004.
Successive arson attacks in 2011 and 2013
had devastated the buildings’ interiors,
reducing several of the structures to little
more than debris-filled shells supported
by temporary propping. Subsequently, the
redevelopment of the site was enabled by
funding from Cornwall Council and National
Lottery Heritage Fund.
Purcell’s approach to the restoration and
adaptation was influenced by the strong
visual appeal of the historic fabric. The
design team was particularly keen to retain
the remaining structures and rejuvenate the
interiors to provide exemplary spaces for
contemporary exhibition and library use.
44 - www.refurbandrestore.co.uk