says eoff. or example, much of the cornice had been removed; we reinstated plaster cornice throughout. The family are experienced renovators, which helped them prepare for the adventure they were about to embark on. Our previous home was a full refurbishment, the townhouse was separated into flats, although was being used as one house when we bought it,” he explains. ut their experience made them more confident about taking risks. We lived in a one-bedroom Airbnb whilst we raced to get the property habitable. Similar to the current renovation, we hired a builder known through a previous kitchen install and undertook the project without a contract or specification of works in place. There are many challenges to taking on a Grade II listed building, mostly in the materials that had to be used. enovations had to match with a like for like replacement. It meant using local builder’s merchants runel Supplies and reclamation yards, such as Kenmart,” he says. All of the heritage windows had to be replicated by local craftsmen, and the render was sourced and applied by a specialist.


21ST CENTURY UPGRADE The 1800s were a time of great architecture, but designs weren’t known for their eco-credentials. As most rade II buildings are single glaed, we knew we needed to do our best to make the property economical to run,” continues Geoff. We installed ground source heat pumps to the rear garden to heat the main house, air source to heat the pool and solar arrays on the pool house and the bat house to offset as much as our


jan/feb 2023


electricity usage as possible.” The property incorporates solar and geothermal energy systems integrated to support the regeneration of the building, where underfloor heating to the entire ground floor allows for sensitively-controlled heating to the listed building fabric. The geothermal water system is in one individual area to reduce impact across the archaeologically sensitive site. The building incorporates breathable lime render to allow the listed building fabric to breathe. The family also considered the impact on the local wildlife. A bat house was constructed to compensate for the disturbance to the loft space in the main house.


MAKING MISTAKES eoff admits We knew we’d make mistakes, as we had no project manager.” Negotiating with local planning and conservation was painful, he says. ut amie the architect approached the planners in a collaborative way, even when it felt as though they were trying to make our life hell.” eoff continues We relied heavily on our


site foreman, Dan Teague of DT Carpentry & uilding, who remained calm throughout and always came up with solutions to any problems.” e adds We were also frequently saved by a local farmer who had looked after the gardens of the property for several decades, and knew a lot of background history that helped the build.” For architect Jamie Allaway, the planning


process was key. lanning permission and listed building process is challenging with this type of listed building and setting with demolitions


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