It’s not often that the opportunity to own reclaimed wood of such historical impact presents itself.
We’re very fortunate then to be the custodians of beams from the Old War Office, and iconic landmark in London. This neo-baroque building in London’s Whitehall, built in 1901, became the administration centre of the British Army during both World Wars, all the way through until 1964.
After 1964 the building continued to be used by the Ministry of Defence, who referred to the building as the “Old War Office.”. In 2014 the Old War Office was sold to Hinduja Group, with plans to redevelop the building into a five-star luxury hotel and 88 high-end apartments. Once the development was underway, we became the proud owners of the wood floorboards, ready to prepare the timber for the challenges of modern construction.
This reclaimed British Colombian Pine sat above the air raid shelter in the basement of the building and was privy to the private conversations and footsteps of key influential figure in British history, including Winston Churchill.
The restoration process was meticulous.
When creating these 20mm thick engineered boards with perfectly hand rolled edges, our artisans took extra care to ensure the centuries old wood was never dishonored. Thousands of handlings and hundreds of years of collective experience were needed to bring out the very best this reclaimed pine had to offer.
The quality of this reclaimed wood cannot be overstated. Each board of War Office Pine features a delightful undulating texture under the fingers, a tight natural flowing grain pattern and comforting deep mellow tones throughout.
Not only do these planks therefore represent the ultimate in sustainable flooring and timeless elegance, with their compelling history, but they are now ready to write a new chapter at the hands of a new owner.