• Courses On Historic Building Details
• National Architectural Museum
• Consultancy For Home Restoration Work
• The National Collection Spans 5 Centuries
• Doors/Windows/Staircases
• Iron Mongery/Fire Grates/Stained Glass
• Shutters/Fanlights/Boot Scrapers
• Wood Mouldings/Rainwater Goods

Welcome To The Brooking National Collection

From the beginning it went well beyond the theoretical. Charles Brooking's childhood fascination with period detail grew. Eventually, whenever a building was demolished or rebuilt, he was often to be found collecting the minute details, from sash pulleys to doorknobs, that would one day give a record and a reminder. By 1966, the Collection was becoming significant – and Charles' parents, as well as his school tutor, supported his ambition to create a unique museum study centre at his home in Guildford, Surrey.

About Charles Brooking

Charles Brooking's passion for architectural detail began back in 1956 when he was just three, and fascinated by the stylised 1930's Bakelite house numbers he saw on neighbours' front gates. In the years since then he has allowed nothing to stand in the way of his determination to preserve telling mementos of Britain's built heritage. A lack of transport was no obstacle when he rescued the heavy iron Regency hob grate from Elizabeth Barrett Browning's bedroom in London. He brought it back by taxi and a crowded commuter train. A taxi came in useful once more when he retrieved a fine glass Adam fanlight from the Chinese Embassy in Portland Place. After he did succeed in buying a car, Charles has never since knowingly driven past a builder's skip without stopping to examine its contents for items of interest.

CPD Courses

Building on the CPD (Continuing Professional Development) courses that he gave whilst the Collection was based at the University of Greenwich, Charles is now continuing to provide a range of hands-on tutorials at Cranleigh, near Guildford in Surrey. These are adaptable and can be adjusted to suit audiences from planning, architecture, design and historical backgrounds as well as home-owners wishing to look after their period homes. Each tutorial takes an afternoon and they can be booked separately.

The Brooking Goes To Venice- The Venice Biennale

The 14th Architecture Biennale in Venice was launched in June 2014 with the Brooking National Collection's display on the history of windows at the heart of it, where it was seen by over 200,000 people. This set of pages dedicated to the Brooking's contribution to the event contains galleries of pictures. There are links to some of the internet material available on the News page. Charles Brooking attended the very successful launch in June. A team of supporters and sponsors went with him. They took some of the strain of dealing with the high level of interest that his 'wall of windows' generated from across the globe.