Violet Melchett Centre

The Violet Melchett Centre is a former infant welfare centre integrated with a Mothercraft Training Home and day nursery, built between 1930 and 1931 for the Chelsea Health Society and the Chelsea Day Nursery. It was designed by FJ Buckland of Buckland and Haywood in a neo-Georgian style.

Construction and Materials

The building is constructed of red brick with Portland stone and tile detailing, under tile roofs.

Plan and Layout

The building has a symmetrical double-courtyard plan comprising a single-storey range to the south, three two-storey wings, and a three-storey range to the north. It consists of a central hall with rooms either side and a linear arrangement of corridors and rooms within the other ranges and wings.

To the south are the remains of former administration rooms and pram stores (the former stores have become enclosed). The western side of the building was originally occupied by the Mothercraft Training Home and includes the remains of former staff rooms, and patient accommodation and wards. The eastern side was originally occupied by a day nursery and includes the original nursery rooms (north range) and the remains of former staff rooms and accommodation. In the middle of the north range are the remains of a shared kitchen and services.

As of 2019, an NHS clinic and consultation service occupies the western half of the building, whilst the Violet Melchett Children's Centre occupies the eastern half. There are offices on the north range second floor. A basement under the north range contains the boiler.

Exterior

Most of the windows are six-over-six horned sashes with tile or stucco sills, topped by flat-arched voussoirs; the ground-floor windows also have projecting brick keystones. A few windows have been replaced, most notably in the north range. Apart from where stated below, all of the ranges and wings have a brick plinth. The main doors are double-leaf, multi-panel timber doors.

South Range

The single-storey street elevation has a central doorway flanked by five windows to either side, topped by an ashlar parapet and cornice. The main entrance has a large ashlar architrave flanked by stylised Corinthian pilasters. Above is a rounded pediment containing an inscription reading: "THE/ VIOLET MELCHETT/ INFANT WELFARE/ CENTRE/ CHELSEA HEALTH SOCIETY". The range is topped by a roof garden covered in later paving tiles and a modern central sprung surface; modern metal fencing has been added to the parapet. The main range is flanked by ramps that lead to two enclosed porches with timber doors. The doors are decorated with ironwork and topped by a tiled archway supported by rusticated brick pilasters; there are also blind brick roundels in the spandrels.

Outer Wings

The two-storey, hipped-roof wings are near symmetrical, with stacks at the south end. Each has clasped rusticated pilasters to the corners and is topped by a brick parapet with an ashlar cornice. The west wing's south return has two small ground-floor casement windows joined by an arched niche; below the windows is the foundation stone. The east wing return has a canted-bay window flanked by two casement windows. Both returns have a first-floor sash window with an ashlar surround and a balcony.

The eight-window street elevations have an off-centre entrance with an ashlar surround featuring a moulded architrave flanked by narrow pilasters and topped by a corniced entablature containing carved lettering. The west-wing lettering reads "MOTHERCRAFT TRAINING HOME", and the east-wing "CHELSEA DAY NURSERY". The sash windows above the doorway have ashlar surrounds with scroll detailing. The courtyard-side elevations have a projecting semi-circular stairtower with a central nine-over-nine sash.

Central Range

A two-storey range with a brick parapet and ashlar cornice extends between the north and south range. At first-floor level on the south side, opening onto the south range's roof garden, is an enclosed colonnade of five arches supported by square brick pillars on ashlar plinths with blind roundels in the spandrels; there are multi-pane glazed doors into the rooms behind. The wing's east and west elevations, lit by six windows, face into the adjacent courtyards; the west elevation includes a pair of partially-glazed ground-floor timber doors with ashlar surrounds.

North Range

The range has a central three-storey block with a first-floor ashlar band course, an ashlar cornice, and a hipped roof with two stacks on the south side. The north elevation, lit by 15 windows, has two rear entrances and near the centre is a single basement window with a railed lightwell. The three-storey block's south elevation has a five-window central section topped by a brick parapet and attached at ground and first-floor level to the central wing. The upper-floor windows either side of the central wing are in recesses topped by reverse-ogee arches, and at ground-floor level are partially-glazed timber-panel doors with brick surrounds.

The central section is flanked by four-window blocks with ashlar-band courses between the first and second floor. Either side of the three-storey range are two-storey links that join to the outer wings. Attached to the eastern link is a three-bay, two-storey roofed veranda; the decorative ironwork has been removed and the first-floor railings have been replaced. There are three sets of partially-glazed timber doors that give access to the veranda from the nursery rooms behind on each floor (originally a room for babies on the ground floor and toddlers on the first floor). There is also another stack over the roof at the north range's east end.

Courtyards

The west courtyard is covered in paving slabs and a tarmacadam pathway. At the centre is a memorial garden surrounded by a low wall which replaces a walled sand pit. There are concrete planters, as well as concrete benches which have been relocated from the east courtyard. The east courtyard retains the original geometric arrangement of white and pink paving slabs with green borders; areas of the courtyard are covered in modern playground surfaces. Modern fencing has been added within both courtyards.

Interior

The three main entrances have small internal porches and vestibules with internal double-leaf timber doors with patterned glazing to the upper panels. The original corridor, hall, and stair floors and skirting are green-and-white terrazzo; areas of the original flooring are visible around the edges of the central hall, main entranceways, and the upper levels of one of the north range staircases. The rest of the floor is largely covered by a later vinyl material, in both imitation terrazzo and wooden floorboards; there is evidence for the removal of terrazzo skirting where the vinyl has been recently lifted. Other original decoration in the principal spaces includes green-terrazzo dado rails along the walls; the rails in the nursery section have been painted blue. There are further original partially-glazed timber-panelled doors within the corridors.

There is a curved staircase to each of the outer wings with triple-arch colonnaded landings with decorative wrought-iron railings, and two sets of dogleg staircases in the north range. All have solid balustrades with polished green terrazzo handrails, and metal handrails on the opposite wall. Some of the staircases have later gates and metal barriers; one set of stairs in the north range has a later steel-wire barrier.

On the ground and first floor many of the original door surrounds survive, taking the form of stepped architraves with plinth blocks. Most of the room doors have been replaced by later fire doors throughout the building. There is an original bell in the ground-floor corridor. Within the rooms the visible original ceilings are slightly coved; some of the rooms retain a simple picture rail. One original tiled fireplace survives in a first-floor nursery room at the east end of the north range in the east outer wing; the other fireplaces have been blocked or removed. There are later false ceilings above various rooms and corridors throughout, and a lift has been inserted into the north range.

The central double-height hall has a coved ceiling with a decorative multi-arched plaster frieze below, and the room is topped by a queen-post truss roof with clerestorey windows on either side; some of the original glazing has been replaced. In the centre of the east wall is a marble surround with a central decorative ironwork grate in front of a cast-iron radiator. The top of the surround is inscribed "LOOK FOR ME IN THE NURSERIES OF HEAVEN". Above the surround is timber-framed painting, fixed to the wall, of Lady Melchett with a dedication to the former chairwoman below. There is also a wooden plaque on the northern wall which includes another dedication and a central bronze bust of Lord Melchett, designed by Charles Sergeant Jagger (1885-1934) and added in 1932. A former platform at the north end of the hall has been removed and part of the hall has been in-filled by a single-storey set of rooms. The hall is flanked by former ground-floor rooms which are now (2019) consulting rooms; this original room arrangement has seen modification with the removal and replacement of many partitions. At first-floor level the hall roof is flanked by the former babies' wards, now nursery rooms; they have each lost an internal glazed partition but remain open spaces.

Alterations

There have been other incremental changes to the original room arrangement. On the ground floor a large proportion of the original room arrangement survives in the north, south, west, and east ranges. At first-floor level more original partitions have been removed, particularly in the north range where the first-floor central service area has been largely reconfigured and some of the regular partitions between the former mothers' bedrooms have been removed. The second-floor north range has been completely refurbished in recent years and the original plan has been substantially reconfigured.

Some doorways have also been relocated and added throughout the building and reception desks have been inserted on the ground floor. There are also later false ceilings and fire doors added throughout, and a lift has been inserted into the north range.