F
ormer teacher Joan Morters’ self-build story is an inspiring lesson in daring to be different.
As Joan herself says: “What’s the point of building a house from scratch that looks like everyone else’s – you may as well go out and buy one that’s already been built. Make it unique.” And there’s no denying that the retirement home she’s created for herself stands out as nothing like the norm in the village of Ramsey Heights, deep in the Cambridgeshire fens. Not only has Joan opted for an energy-
efficient, timber-built passive house, she’s also chosen an eye-catching inverted aluminium roof design that resembles the
wings of a butterfly. Not surprisingly, the 135 m2
two-bedroom
property has attracted a fair of amount of interest locally. Joan reveals: “I’ve had people stop and take pictures of the house, although people are getting more used to it now.” Construction finished in April 2019, but the
journey to that point began in earnest three years earlier when Joan finished a career of more than 40 years in teaching, the last two decades as a primary school headteacher. She jokes: “Headteachers are used to being
busy, so I thought a project like building my own house would help to keep me occupied for a few years!”
The idea of self-building was partly inspired
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