A Grade II Listed dwelling located in the heart of mediaeval Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk. Our multi-disciplinary team of Architects and Building Surveyors worked together to complete this project, starting from undertaking the initial building survey and following this through to working on site. The brief we were given was to undertake all necessary repairs works, alongside creating a rustic-industrial style home using natural and reclaimed materials, where possible.
Externally, works included:
- The removal of of the existing blown cement render, uncovering the stunning historic north façade. Beneath that encompassed red brick corbeling, exposed stone lintels and Abbeystone and flint infill. A conscious decision was made to leave this façade exposed, which enables the building to be viewed as an integral part of the local vernacular.
- Demolishing and rebuilding the structurally unsafe chimney stack and re-incorporating details such as the exposed first floor fireplace, showcasing that this building was once a mid-terrace.
- Replacing modern joinery with carefully considered counterparts that were more befitting of the building, and incorporating new joinery to allow natural lighting to flow within the spaces.
- The rear two-storey section of slate roofing was also replaced with a shallow pitched standing seam zinc, enabling the internal space below to become adaptable and usable given the increased height, instead of being nestled into the eaves.
Internally, works included:
- Converting the virtually untouched basement to create a utility and home gym. This included carefully considered breathable paint, limecrete flooring with ventilation ducting, and new external glazed floor lights to allow natural light into the space.
- On the ground floor, walls were removed at the rear of the house to enable doors into the courtyard garden and to create a large open-plan stainless steel kitchen, which nicely contrasted the historic natural materials of the remainder of the house.
- Up to the first floor, further walls were removed at the rear of the property to take advantage of the increased head height, creating an open, welcoming bedroom space with a private stair leading down to the kitchen.
- On the third floor, a master suite was created, with the inclusion of two conservation rooflights. The mechanical and electrical installation within the property was completely overhauled, allowing up-to-date technology to be incorporated into a listed building in a respectful and discreet manner.
The courtyard garden was remastered, with inconspicuous external lighting that was positioned to highlight aspects of the ancient flint surrounding walls, carefully considered reclaimed bricks to create permeable flooring, and a raised flower bed constructed from gabions filled with locally sourced flint, which worked together to draw in the surroundings.
