Built in 1825, this very unusual brick noggin ex-pub had one big thing going for it. Having been uninhabited for decades, it hadn’t been gutted of all it’s heritage features. On the other hand it was derelict, damp, draughty and dubiously built.

The design brief was to transform this unloved building into a comfortable five bedroom family dwelling, with a focus on making the kitchen the heart of the home, without removing any of the building’s substantial heritage character.

This involved a great deal of structural work as the bottom plates (trees cut in half!) were rotted out, re-pointing the field rubble foundations with lime mortar, adding the extension, fitting a recycled timber kitchen and new bathroom, and redecorating.

To keep the heat in, we caulked the pit sawn floors to stop the draughts, super insulated the cellars and roof spaces, and did an awful lot of gap filling.

The result? A heritage house that could easily have gone to rack and ruin is now a comfortable, functional family home of great charm and character.