Completed - Mission Church - A faithful approach to design

© Simon Maxwell Photography

Following a sensitive adaptive reuse of a Mission Church, clients Geoff and Julie are celebrating a new lease of life for “The Old Mission Church” which is now available to rent as a Cotswolds retreat in the picturesque village of Paxford. 

Whilst the Mission Church was not listed, the local authority considered the building a non-designated heritage asset. Cotswold District Council’s planning policy confirms that conversions of all non-domestic historic buildings should conserve the significance of the heritage asset including its form, features, character, and setting. A conservation based approach was adopted for the conversion based on an understanding of the buildings history and significance.  

The conservation approach adopted was to repair and reuse the existing fabric whilst adopting a minimal approach to modern interventions through maximising the use of existing spaces and through the installation of a contemporary pod which appears to float in the space, providing a mezzanine level master bedroom and ensuite.  

The final finishing touches are credit to the love and dedication that Geoff and Julie have given the project provided reusing items salvaged from church. A lantern purchased with the building has been restored to be the main light in the living room. The pulpit has become a table and a headboard. The Bell chime mechanism has been restored by Paxford Engineering, new door runners fabricated by MRK and the clock face sprayed at Brothertons, all businesses based on the Northwick Park Estate. 

The external walls have been cleaned, the building fabric insulated and upgraded and the building now has a new use for the next 150 years to be shared with as many guests as possible, whilst continuing to be a beautiful focal point for the village.

Wendy's technical term of the month - Brick Tax

As a result of the brick tax between 1756 and 1850, the increase in the size of a brick is now useful in helping date the construction of a building.

Pre-1784 bricks in the house on the right versus newer bricks on the left.

The impact of the brick tax on architecture was to see many areas returning to the use of timber and weatherboarding in house construction, especially weather tiles to simulate brick work, known as mathematical tiles. Until 1833 the brick tax also applied to roof tiles and drainage pipes. The taxation of pipes led to a lower quality of housing as many households could not afford drainage pipes due to their increased price. Tiles were taxed based on the size and level of decoration, which made people use plain tiles, which were the cheapest. In general buildings constructed before 1784 and after 1850 show more ornaments, better design and detailing than buildings built within this period.

A Brick Tax was first proposed in 1756. The proposal was initially considered to be only partial since much of Britain used stone for building, and unfair, as the tax would not apply to the rich as their houses were built almost exclusively from stone. It failed to pass but was reintroduced in 1784 to help pay for the War of American Independence by which time bricks had grown in popularity and use. Bricks were initially taxed at 2s 6d per thousand and the word ‘excise’ imprinted on bricks that had been taxed.

To mitigate the effects of the per-thousand brick tax, manufacturers began to increase the size of their bricks (useful now as the size of the bricks can help date the construction of a building) this was eventually held in check by new legislation that specified the size of a single brick. The brick tax was finally abolished in 1850 by which time it was considered to be a detriment to industrial development.

Lower Lodge Williamscott - work in progress

It has been nearly 2 years since planning permission was granted at committee for the extension of Lower Lodge Williamscott; having started work in June 2020 works are well underway.

Our clients are well underway to completing the self-build of the alterations and extension to this curtilage listed lodge at Williamscott, Oxfordshire.

The proposals involved a sympathetic extension to the lower lodge to make the 2-bedroom house a 3-bedroom family home with an ensuite bathroom, so there is ample accommodation to make this a forever home in the idyllic hamlet of Williamscott.

Our proposals involve removing all modern extensions to make way for a new sensitive design. The development is to be located as far as possible from the key views to avoid impact on the conservation area and allow the original form of the lodge to be restored. The topography of the site falls away to the south allowing an additional storey to be created below the current ground floor, creating an additional increase in the footprint of the house by 45 sqm. New accommodation at ground floor includes a contemporary kitchen diner with stunning views to the landscape beyond.

Wendy's technical term of the month - Slobbered Limestone

“When planning to alter a finish we should always take into consideration why the work was done in the first place and specific finishes should be replaced like for like.”

The term ‘slobbered limestone’ seems to be more popularly used in the north of England nevertheless there are many examples on vernacular buildings in exposed areas elsewhere that are prone to wind-driven rain. In such places, buildings of rubblestone have often been rendered, if not fully rendered, then walls were ‘slobbered’, that is pointed with a thickly applied mortar. A high proportion of mortar to limestone rubble was important applied full to the face of the stonework in several coats and limewash then applied. The lime mix used often contained a large aggregate which can look much like modern pebbledash. Along with the limewash applied onto it, slobbered coats stop rain from penetrating stonework, the aggregate forming a large surface area which stops rainwater running down walls and lets it dry out with the help of the wind and the sun.  

Over time, mortar coats have often degraded and fallen away, leaving a flush pointed finish exposed that can allow wind driven rain to penetrate the pointed wall beneath and cause problems with damp. Misunderstanding of this method and the fashion for exposing stone means that the pointing is often brushed back too far between the stones to make them visible. Some stonework was never meant to be seen, walls having been built to be rendered or ‘slobbered’ for their weather protective qualities rather than their aesthetic ones.

A perfectly ‘sty-lised’ studio from ruinous eyesore!

We are delighted to have received planning permission and listed building consent for a contemporary artist studio in the curtilage of a private country house in Wiltshire amidst the sensitive setting of the Broad Town White Horse. The new art studio is to be constructed on the footprint of a ruinous pigsty, and next to a boiler house.

Good survey information, along with a heritage statement, condition survey and visual assessment informed a sensitive and contemporary design which reflected the appearance of the old pigsty, whilst better revealing the heritage of the site, and bring into use the old boiler house falling into disrepair.

We were approached by the client as the existing application was about to be refused by Wilshire Council from a combination of the Council not being able to physically visit the site, and also the inadequacy of the existing information.

Following a review of the site and the scope of work, the scheme was modified to remove any harmful elements of the proposals. A new measured survey was commissioned, a heritage statement and condition survey was prepared to justify the alterations to the smoke house. The heritage statement informed the design and a new scheme prepared to reflect the appearance of the old pigsties.

A revised application was submitted within 3 weeks of being appointed.

Mission Church, Paxford - works underway

After a year of planning and preparation, works to Mission Church in Paxford have commenced! Builders NJN construction are carrying out the work and have made a fantastic start. Don’t forget to like the facebook page!

Find out more see the Paxford Mission Church Webpage

Conservation of the Covered Market continues

46-48 Covered Market, Oxford

Following a period of downtime, Croft Building and Conservation re-commenced work on 46-48 Covered Market on the 1st June 2020. Following the first week of re-establishing site, setting up hand sanitising stations and agreeing method statements, the site was fully operational the following week. The starting of site work preceded the general opening of the Covered Market and as a result we reviewed the programme ahead and agreed to advance certain aspects of the project to ensure that social distancing could be maintained when the market re-opened on the 15th June.

The modern brick and glazed screen had been intended to be removed as part of a final finale once the works were complete – however to comply with the City Council’s method statements and social distancing rules, we agreed that the screen should be removed so that stall owners and visitors could see the work more freely without stopping to see it. This would have the added advantage of reducing restrictions on the width of the avenues improving flow around the market.

The early revealing of the restoration project has prompted several complimentary comments from other stall holders. The restored units are attracting much interest from prospective new tenants, which is a credit to Oxford City Council and Oxford Preservation Trust’s commitment to funding the conservation of the Covered Market

Back to basics - Bere Farm

Bere Farm, Warnford

We are delighted that planning and listed building consent has been granted for alterations to one of the oldest farmhouse in Hampshire: Bere Farm, Warnford. The proposals involve restoring the character of the interior whilst unpicking crude and damaging late 20th century alterations to early fabric. A detailed heritage and design statement was prepared to illustrate where changes where being made and the age of the fabric affected.

Plans include, restoring the linear arrangement of the principal rooms served by the 18th century corridor to the north of the house and reinstating the medieval hall at the centre of the house. Contemporary alterations involve; a large kitchen to the west of the house and a new master bedroom suite at first floor with uninterrupted views out along the lane.

Bere Farmhouse is an ancient house dating back to 1528. It is unusual as it is a very early floored-hall building - i.e. the hall was never two storeys and timber chimney stacks carried smoke from the hall. Sixteenth century service quarters were replaced in the early seventeenth century. A catslide roof was added to the rear in the 18th century and at the same time the whole house refaced in brick to follow architectural fashion. A Victorian range was added to the east at the end of the 19th century replacing an earlier parlour. The house was sold on the open market in 1978 and since then a number of damaging changes have adversely affected the character of the farmhouse.

Church Farm Annex - Approved.

Despite a short delay to the application process as a result of COVID-19 we are pleased to have received planning permission for a new annex at Church Farm House, North Moreton. We have made the most of the planning period to resolve all of the planning conditions and the building control issues so work can start immediately.

Church Farm House is Grade II listed and within the North Moreton Conservation Area. The new annex is set within the old farm yard, and is surrounded by a number of old farm buildings such as the Granary, Boiler House and Cart Shed which remain curtilage listed. Set between the stables to the west and the garden to the east the design of the new annex responds to the changing characteristics of the site and immediate setting. The west elevation has therefore been designed to look agricultural, whilst the east elevation is designed to look domestic. Careful massing studies were carried out from the outset to ensure that the new annex did not dominate the curtilage listed buildings and their roof lines – particularly the old Granary.

The annex integrates storage for stables and a tack room, with independent residential and agricultural access. The annex will provide accommodation for three with limited reception accommodation.

The permission marks phase I of the proposals for a new family annex. The annex is designed for members of our client’s family to visit over major festive periods such as Easter and Christmas and will be lived in by the applicants whilst work to the main house is being carried out.

COVID-19 Update

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement on Monday 23rd March, we have implemented new working processes so that we continue to be fully operational, whilst doing our upmost to protect our staff, clients and other local businesses.

Where possible our staff are now working from home, whilst the office remains open for those who are unable to do so.

We are strictly following government guidance on social distancing to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and have made changes to our office environment so that the 2m distancing rules are maintained to protect the safety and wellbeing of our staff and other local businesses.

We are now carrying out all possible meetings through video conferencing technology which allows us to screen share our drawings and presentations.

We are risk assessing site visits and inspections on a case by case basis and will continue visits only where it is possible to follow 2m distancing rules, where meetings involve no more than 2 people on site and with access to regular hand-washing facilities. Where this is not possible, we are exploring video conferencing and improved communication using existing mobile technology, the use of filming and photography.

We will keep you updated on our approach to the situation and how we are maintaining our professional service levels.  If you have any queries regarding your project please do contact James directly.