FAIRLIGHT END

The George in Rye is a historic coaching inn formed from a cluster of interlinked Listed buildings in the heart of the ancient citadel, that was subject to a devastating fire in July 2019. A complex restoration project began involving many craftspeople and artisan contractors. The clients set a sustainable design ethos right from the start with a focus on careful renovation of the existing building fabric combined with salvaged and reused materials; for instance, the original ballroom floor has found a new home in the waiters’ station. The main building’s roof and rooms underneath were severely damaged from the fire and had to be entirely rebuilt. The eldest parts of the roof (16th century) were partly rebuilt using traditional materials and methods to sympathetically recreate the original frames and by incorporating some of the charred timbers we were able to gain a “new historic layer”. The building suffered extensive water damage with all the storeys below being stripped to its “bare bones” giving a fascinating insight into the construction of the historic cluster. During this, the mathematical tiles to the high street elevation were an interesting find.