CASE STUDY


JOHN FORGES THE RIGHT RESULT


When John Wilkinson took the decision to buy a run down former blacksmith’s cottage just outside York, he wasn’t quite prepared for the renovation journey that lay in front of him


TEXT HEATHER DIXON IMAGES DAVE BURTON


AFTER


A shortened conservatory, new render, bi-fold doors and landscaping have transformed the appearance of the cottage without losing its quirky character.


BEFORE Covered in ivy and with cracks in the render, the cottage was in need of some TLC – when John bought the property there was a row of  foot high fir trees less than three metres from it


J


ohn Wilkinson felt an odd mixture of elation and “that sinking feeling” when he got the phone call to let him know his sealed bid to buy a dilapidated old cottage near York had been successful.


“One half of me was really excited at the


prospect of doing it up, the other half was wondering what on earth I’d landed myself with,” says John. “I knew it was in a bad way, but I wasn’t worried about that. I bought it to renovate as a long-term project with the aim of either renting it out or living there myself one day. I just didn’t realise how dilapidated it was.” John remained in blissful ignorance for a year while he ‘sat’ on the project until he had time to give it the attention it clearly needed. It also gave him a chance to work out how he was going to transform the dark, old-fashioned property into somewhere light, open and welcoming.


38 www.sbhonline.co.uk


“I decided to renovate the cottage in two phases to spread the costs,” says John. The first phase would be the renoation of the main cottage followed by the conversion of a single-storey extension at the front of the house at a later date.”


The biggest challenge was its location. Situated in a village, this former blacksmith’s cottage is hidden away from the main road and is only accessible through a narrow stone archway linking other buildings. “It’s wide enough to get a car through but not a truck, so getting materials on and offsite was always going to be a major consideration,” said John. “If I decided to knock down the cottage and start again, there was no way I could get lorry loads of bricks, stone or trusses onsite. A renovation was the only logical and practical route.”


Unfortunately, poor access was just the tip of the iceberg.


nov/dec 2022


HIGH POINT


“Fitting the gates earlier this year. It just rounded everything off”


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