The Coach House Gym – An Old Piece Of Bury
The Coach House Gym gets its name from its origins, this piece of Newtons is actually the building where the coach and horses that served the main Georgian House were housed.
Looking from the The Rock at the front of Newtons you’d never know what a warren the building is. With high vaulted cellar ceilings and original covings of the old building, Newtons holds lots of secrets. Our latest addition is the complete refurbishment of The Coach House, a two storey 100sqm (1000sqft) space towards the back of Newtons
The Coach House over more recent years had mainly been used as storage and workshop space which left the space more functional than anything else. Over the years areas of the building were getting tired and neglected whilst, like the main building, original features had endured, untouched.
How We Started
I’ll confess, The Coach House became a hoarders paradise, hidden away and big enough to hold lots of furniture and miscellaneous it was full to the ceiling with ‘stuff’, but as the final piece of Newtons we knew we wanted to bring this area back to life alongside Isaac’s Yard. We started the project by first seeking potential tenants of the space – who could benefit from the space? We wanted to refurbish the space with the new users in mind, as opposed to creating something and then making large changes once someone had found the space.
It was late summer in 2019 when we were able to take this idea through with The Hive (home of Crossfit Bury) who we like to say saw through the clutter and had the vision of what the space could be.
The Work
Once we had a plan in place on what we could achieve and that we had someone who could use the space we started the work. It took us a week to remove the clutter, waste and strip the building back. Although aspects of the building had been covered for decades we didn’t find any nasty surprises and the building revealed some of its secrets. We found old foundations for pitching eyes, where the hay was stored for the horses; original timber from the horse stalls as well as doors and windows openings of the original building.
Features
We really wanted to keep the original features of the building as much as possible so it was brick walls throughout the ground floor, open roof space exposing the old oak beams in the roof and one of our favourites the old beautiful and miss matched floor boards.
One of the biggest challenges was keeping the floors boards. They had been manipulated so much over the 200 years that once removed they would not return to original position which meant all the floor need to stay together whilst replacing aspects of the floor joists etc.
The Future
As of today The Hive team are moving in, they are preparing the space for a unique, boutique gym open to the public and Newton members. This space will be focused on functional training by yourself, through video coaching and when applicable coached group sessions. All this with COVID and members safety at the forefront. The main opening will be in September 2020 with Frenchie and his team being on hand to answer questions now and when they open. You can find more information and register your interest here.
The Vision
Newtons is based on the community it supports and nurtures, the addition of the gym is a further perk to the space. Feedback from our members highlights the advantage of working for an hour or two in the morning, hitting the gym for 30mins and getting back to work for another few hours. Had a business deal go wrong? Take 30mins to get your edge back, you’ll feel better, trust us. Having a space like The Coach House will be a great benefit to the space and its community.
Matthew Kendall
Founder of Newtons of Bury. Rethinking property management with Newtons Estates. Helping pollinators with Bury Bee Co. Aiding those in need with apresShower Dryer.