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Medieval Pizza Express Building in Warwick Needs Roof and Chimney Repairs

Pizza Express wants consent to repair its Grade II* building at 33-35 Jury Street. What inspections found, what would change and how to comment before the target date of 27 November.

By Alex Harrington 2 min read Source: Warwick District Council planning
Jury Street in Warwick, looking along the north side towards the East Gate and St Peter's Chapel
Jury Street, Warwick, looking towards the East Gate along the north side, where the restaurant is. Photo: Philip Halling, CC BY-SA 2.0

Pizza Express has asked for permission to repair its restaurant building on Jury Street in Warwick, after inspections found water getting in, decayed timbers and chimneys showing slight twisting. The application, W/26/1235/LB, covers 33-35 Jury Street, and the council’s target date for a decision is Friday 27 November.

On this page
  1. What the inspections found at Jury Street
  2. What would change
  3. Who has commented

Listed building consent is needed because of the building’s age. Its national listing describes a medieval structure with a front of about 1700, a 17th-century back wing and internal timbering typical of a Wealden house. It was once two properties, and its older listing name was “The Porridge Pot”. It’s Grade II*, a higher grade than the Grade II in the first report, and a grade kept for particularly important buildings.

What the inspections found at Jury Street

The heritage statement from PizzaExpress (Restaurants) Limited, a tenant here since 1998, draws on visual inspections and drone surveys of the roofs. It says the building appears structurally stable, but lists these defects:

  • Roofs: slipped and damaged slates and tiles, worn lead flashings and moss, with the felt flat roofs near the end of their life.
  • Chimneys: weathered brickwork, open mortar joints and some slight twisting and movement.
  • Rear walls: cracking, failed pointing and repairs to bulging masonry, subject to a structural engineer’s advice.
  • Windows: decayed timber and failed putty on the wooden frames, and corrosion on the metal frames at the front.
  • Second floor, at the back: a faulty valley gutter has let water in. An engineer found the main hip rafter sound, but the struts and posts around it are deteriorating.

The full extent won’t be known until scaffolding goes up and the old lath and plaster is opened up.

What would change

Very little you’d notice, the applicant says. Repairs would use lime mortar and matching materials, with replacement only where something is beyond repair. The outside would be repainted in its current colour, and a worn skylight at the back would become a conservation-style roof window. No extensions, demolition or change of use are proposed.

The statement argues the work will protect the building’s historic fabric and cause no harm to it. It gives no start date, and doesn’t say whether the restaurant would need to close during the work.

Who has commented

By Wednesday 4 November the council’s website showed no public comments. Warwick Town Council, the ward councillors, the council’s conservation team and Historic England have been consulted, and no replies were showing. You can read the documents and comment through the application page.

The plans were first reported by Warwick Nub News. For another historic Warwick building going through the same process, see our story on The Globe.

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Alex Harrington