Brickley Hall Square

Backstory

Brickley Hall was once a fine gentleman's residence until the turn of the 20th century. The villagers of Brickley-on-the-Studs have watched the once fine hall fall in to disrepair and ruin. No one alive remembers the hall how it once was. The upper floors caved in creating a large open courtyard. A vast majority of the roof tiles were blown off in the great storm of 1956, leaving only one section of original roofing intact. The iconic bell tower crumbled, and the Glory Bell, so named after the village founder, Gloria Brickley, was seized by the authorities in the interest of preserving history. It became Brickley-on-the-Studs most prized museum piece. 

Over 100 years later, some enterprising young property developers saw the potential behind the crumbling Brickley Hall and set to re-imagining the now derelict building. The village council agreed to the plans, with the stipulation that the bell tower was rebuilt, so that the Glory Bell could be reinstalled into its rightful place. 

Today, Brickley Hall Square is a thriving shopping quarter, and boasts several shops and stores, outdoor coffee stand and urban bee keeping. 

Creator's Note

Hi all! This is my 2nd submission to Lego ideas, and yes, it's a big one. (Well, big for me any ways, approx 2250 pieces!) I did play with the idea that each building is a separate set that would then join together to create the collective Brickley Hall, but ultimately, this didn't work. I was making sacrifices on the design that was ultimately detrimental to the overall aesthetic. I was trying to shoehorn each building into an idea that it wasn't meant for.

So yes, this is a big set, and yes, I would expect it to be fairly expensive, but hopefully this won't detract from the fact that it would be an awesome creator set which would have fantastic playability. There is huge potential for several different buildings to be made with these bricks. I like to think that this idea has enough bricks in it to be a street builders dream! The construction of this should be sufficiently challenging for the majority of builders but not so difficult that it takes an age to construct. The different sections make it easier to break it down into smaller chunks, that click together at the end. 

The set itself is very much similar in style to my previous building Paulo's Italian Restaurant , and keeps within the style of more recent creator buildings. A lot of the newer colours have been used as they are muted and suit the refinement of Brickley Hall. A mixture of old and modern architecture design has been used to reflect the idea of the old hall being renovated. 

As this is such a huge building, I will release more images of the individual buildings, internal views and how the hinged sections work as updates over the coming weeks. 

Features

Click together design, making it playable, and easier to construct. (Concentrate on one section at a time)

Each mini-building opens up in some way for full playability. (Some sections are hinged, some sections have upper floors that can be lifted off.)

Free standing furniture and accessories (i.e. not part of the wall structure) so that rooms and even shops can be switched around and reconfigured.) (Exception: Post Box in the archway wall.)

Sand Blue Section- Butchers Shop and Upper Walkway

The smallest section of Brickley Hall, features a small butchers, equipped with chiller cabinets, assorted meats and butchers knives. An upper gallery acts as a walk through for the other upstairs stores. Hinged, allowing access to the inside. 

Olive Green Section- Post Office, Flower Stand and Bell Tower

This section has a large floor plan, as the main internal courtyard and tree is built on this section. The lower floor has a small post office, with scales and post box. This can be accessed by a hinged wall on the reverse. Alongside this, there is an archway into the courtyard, with security gate that can be locked after hours. The upper floor has an open front using archways. The store sells a variety of plants and jars of honey, produced at Brickley Hall from their very own urban beehives. The pinnacle of the building, the bell tower, has been restored, with the Glory Bell hanging in pride of place. 

Sand Green Section- Book Store and Newsagents, Music Shop

The lower floor features a modern, clean lined book store and newsagents. The whole section splits in half, and the upper floor lifts off on one side for accessibility. The upper floor has a realistically cramped music store, selling a plethora of musical instruments and equipment. (Every music shop I have ever been in has been small and cramped, I tried to stay faithful to that!) 

Earth Blue Section- Bakery and Coffee Stand

The upper walkway lifts off the bakery to allow access to the inside. The bakery features a large bread oven and assorted baked goods. The upper walkway is home to the coffee stand, perfect for when you need a drink to enjoy with that croissant!

Dark Stone Grey and White Section- Sports Store, Camera Optics Shop, Urban Beehives

This section opens out at the front to access the full length of each store. The Sports Store sells, surf boards, snow boards, skateboards as well as helmets, hats and other equipment. Upstairs, the Camera Optics shop sells a variety of cameras and telescopes, as well as studio lights and camera lenses. The top floor is where Brickley Hall's busy bees make their honey. Three urban beehives are placed on the roof, with access to this via a ladder on the side of the building. This section also features a staircase from the rear (accessed via the central courtyard) that provides the access to the upper floors.