The Old Farmhouse
Balancing heritage and modern living
The owner of The Old Farmhouse asked me to assist her with the planning and listed building consent applications to bring this neglected old farmhouse back to its former glory which included a few well considered modern interventions. It was a treasure trove of centuries old features that had to be restored , many of them buried under layers of plasterboard and modern building materials.
The listed building consent addressed three separate issues. A scattering of poor quality and overly large rooflights were installed without the appropriate consents in place. Fewer rooflights, smaller in size and of a heritage design was proposed to reduce the harm to the building.
The Old Farmhouse hides a wonderful secret under her rafters: The entire loft was undeveloped and left largely untouched by modern intervention. Our research showed that the loft was highly likely used as staff accommodation in Georgian times complete with a servants staircase linking the loft directly with a store room at ground level. Our proposals included the development of the loft using a breathable construction build up along with reinstatement of the servants’ staircase as a secondary means of escape.
As a medieval farmhouse, the social spaces face towards what is now a busy road, with the utility spaces facing what would have been the farm yard. We sought to reorder the ground floor layout by removing an internal framed wall to allow direct visual and physical access to the family garden.
Remnants of the servants staircase as seen from the store room
Despite the early objections received from the Conservation Officer, we demonstrated that the framed wall earmarked for partial removal, was in fact removed at some point in the past and partially removing it now would not harm the fabric or heritage of the building. Planning and Listed building consents was granted for all the proposed interventions.
A dormer window inserted by the Georgians bisected by a room divider
Equal amounts of light flooding both sides of the dividing wall
It is a real pleasure following and supporting my client in her quest to do what is right for the building and her family. Her journey can be followed at The Old Farmhouse on Instagram A real labour of love, and one she has taken on with great determination!