Chia Naturally Healthy Café in Hitchin forms the north-western corner unit part of a Grade II* listing C15th range which is still standing.
This is a prominent corner plot in the town, overlooking St Mary’s Church, itself a grade I listed church with the tower dating from 1190.
The development required the adaptation of a former shop into a café and the installation of the associated catering facilities and in particular a new dumbwaiter.
Chia Naturally Healthy Café’s drainage required upgrading to accommodate the new services and layout. Specific complications were encountered both with the sympathetic re- routing of the new drainage into an existing, very shallow manhole at the head of the drainage run serving other properties and the support for the dumbwaiter over an existing, sealed basement.
Photography: Jake Milligan
