A
ramshackle 19th century home in Devon has been restored to its former period glory, with more than a nod towards a
modern, liveable style with new additions to complement and contrast the existing property. The Priory is a beautiful manor house in the
picturesque village of Ipplepen. The Grade II listed property sits on a quiet site among tall trees, on land historically linked to a 13th century Augustine Priory. A Devon-based practice – Co Create Architects – helped renovate the existing manor house and create two modern, zinc-clad extensions.
The building had been left unloved and unchanged for many years when Geoff Hall and his family discovered it by accident. And it was love at first sight. On the walk up the driveway, we were instantly taken by the property,” he says. They viewed it by chance, when they were visiting another house in the village. The Priory quickly became their favourite.
Work began in June 2020, and was completed in anuary 2022. We were still living in ondon at the time and so hired a local, recommended builder after a short phone call. They started work shortly afterwards, sending photos of how the build was going at the end of each week, he says. Our inspiration throughout was to return this tired property back to its former glory.”
One of the first problems they faced was financial. ecause of its condition, the house was considered too big a risk by mortgage companies. nloved is an understatement, says eoff. The property at the outset wasn’t considered to be mortgageable; another stumbling block.”
Even for the most experienced self-builders, taking on a rade II isted building is no small task. In this case, there was even more pressure as the site dated back much further than the late-Victorian architecture would suggest. The property and its surrounds have a complicated history, which had to be unravelled
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in order to create something new that would respect its history. A evon onghouse was built where the current home site sits, and which formed the heart of a farm. A longhouse is a single-storey building with thatched roofs, built from the 14th to 18th centuries. Known for their distinctive shape, longhouses were built to house both people and livestock in a shared building. Farm buildings were removed and a 19th century single home was built around the structure of the longhouse, with additional wings added at later dates. As well as being a Grade II-listed building, The Priory sits in a conservation area, in an area of archaeological sensitivity. Prompted by the rumour (substantiated by Wikipedia!) that the building was on the site of the historic Ipplepen Priory, Geoff commissioned a number of heritage reports.
It was assumed the riory was on the site of a Medieval monastery,” he says. However, from the research, this assumption was incorrect. The most amusing part of the history was that the former owner was a surgeon and left a skeleton in the loft, and when Jamie Allaway [the architect] was undertaking a survey late at night he got a bit of a surprise!” All this history – and the need to respect its
real as well as somewhat fictional heritage, meant creating a careful design. The exterior was purely returned to how the property would have looked when it was first built. ut it underwent a major change that involved the complete restoration of the client’s home. The land was cleared of numerous ramshackle outbuildings including a side garage to allow space for side and rear extensions. The loft space was also converted for use. A zinc garage now covers the area that previously sited a cluster of outbuildings. Inside is modern living within a period property, but past features have been restored. The changes we made were to reinstate period features that had been lost,”
jan/feb 2023
GEOFF’S TOP TIPS
• Work with people you trust” • Commit to the design, but with flexibility to meet all the needs of planners, conservationists and heritage consultants” • espect the listed building elements and heritage protections in place” • ite your tongue with planners – arguing will delay or cause negative outcomes”
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