News
Walled Garden, South Devon
A pair of new houses within the grade II listed walled garden, one of a number of listed structures around the old Rousdon Estate built in 1883 -86 for Sir Henry Peek as a single country estate with all mod cons for the time.
The huge walled garden was not only for the production of vegetables and flowers for the household but also served as a destination on a walk around the grounds. The pavilions at the centre of the walls on the axis of the terrace to the south and the corner belvederes giving views to the sea over the fields and woods.
These large six bedroom houses (600 square metres) have planning consent as a pair but each respective purchaser wanted to change the details, one to be more traditional , the other more modern. We have negotiated variations with the planners than reflect these differences. The traditional one has levels of insulation and energy performance that meet current building regulations but do not exceed them. The modern version is as sustainable as possible, with increased insulation to the floors, walls and roofs, independent solar hot water heating and higher specification.
High quality finishes will be achieved with resin floors, Dinesen wide plank floorboards and sophisticated heating controls.
May 2013
Hope Bourne Exhibition
Jonathan Rhind Architects are sponsoring with others an exhibition on Hope Bourne at the Heritage Centre, Dulverton (behind Exmoor National Park/Tourist Information Office) on the life of this extraordinary woman who lived wild on Exmoor shooting rabbits for the pot, following the hunt but also drawing, painting and writing about the wilderness and its colours, moods and inhabitants. An interesting approach to an "off-grid" life in a hard but beautiful place.
For further details please follow the link below:
http://www.exmoorsociety.org.uk/News.htm
May 2013
The wrappers come off Parracombe Church
The scaffolding has come down and the protection has been removed following the successful completion of re-roofing and tower repairs to this grade II listed church built in 1872.
Most of the slate, especially on the larger pitches was new from Trevillet Quarry in North Cornwall, some of the original smaller slates were used on the small pitches to the north side. There were also substantial repairs to the internal earth plastered walls, which then had a lime skim coat and limewash finish.
Funded by English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund with a substantial contribution from the local community, the project was completed on time and within budget.
Please click on the pdf for more images of the work.
May 2013
Completion of the China Tower, Colaton Raleigh
In November 2010, Clinton Devon Estates asked Jonathan Rhind Architects to take on the challenge to convert this unusual building into holiday accommodation to be leased to the Landmark Trust. This project, funded by Clinton Devon Estates was a move to help secure a sustainable long-term use for the building with a high occupancy rate helping to deter any future vandalism.
We managed to provide all the necessary accommodation within a limited, octagonal footprint while conserving the essential architectural character of the building.
The planners regarded the site as extremely sensitive. Not only is it a grade II listed building within the curtilage of the grade II* Bicton House but it is also a prominent feature within a Registered Park and Garden. Planning and listed building consent was granted by mid October 2011.
Following approval of the necessary consents we provided detailed designs and specification for the necessary repairs and careful integration of modern elements (services, bathroom etc.) within the historic fabric.
Work started in September 2012. The main concern was repairing the parapets and carrying out any lime rendering work before the risk of frosts or extreme weather in the winter. A complete roofed scaffold was installed to avoid days being lost through bad weather to secure the programme.
All of the roofs needed urgent repairs, we replaced the modern bitumen felt flat roofs that were leaking, with durable code 8 lead roofs. A flat roofed outbuilding had a new pitched roof in Cornish slate, following documentary evidence showing an earlier pitched roof.
The cement renders, although cracked in certain areas were repaired rather than hacked off and renewed. This allowed us to preserve the colour from the weathered render and the various lichens that had built up over the years.
There were no existing services to the site which we took as an opportunity to provide a more sustainable heating system with the use of efficient, high temperature air source heat pumps.
Completion was achieved in March 2013 and following test runs was ready and furnished in time for the official opening on 25th April 2013 by Lord Clinton and Dr Anna Keay - Director of the Landmark Trust.
Please follow this link for more information and booking details for this wonderful building;
http://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/search-and-book/properties/china-tower-19342May 2013
2012 William Stansell Awards Presentation
Amanda Watmore received a well deserved award for her work at the historic Tithe Barn at West Lyng at a presentation at Taunton Racecourse on Saturday 13th April. The awards were postponed from last November due to atrocious weather conditions at the time.
April 2013
Historic Tithe Barn wins the 2012 William Stansell Award
A historic Grade II listed medieval monastic tithe barn in West Lyng, near Taunton, has been announced as the winner of the 2012 William Stansell Award.
Mrs Anne Lloyd-Jones whose family own the historic farm, undertook the conservation and repair project with the advice of when the work was carried out it was under Jonathan Rhind Architects and TFT Cultural Heritage.
The Cultural Heritage team at Tuffin Ferraby Taylor (TFT) advised on phase one of the project, the stabilisation of the structure, after a structural report identified that there was accelerating decay with minor items going first but incipient major faults gradually developing, almost unseen. This was a complicated process as the building was classed as dangerously unstable and all work carried out had to be done with cranes and cherry pickers from outside a 30 metre exclusion zone.
Jonathan Rhind, the Devon and Somerset based architectural firm, project managed phase two of the project, the precise and painstaking repair of the listed property, to bring it back to full agricultural use.
The work carried out on the barn was grant funded through an Environmental Stewardship Scheme managed by Natural England. The restoration of the tithe barn, which lies within the curtilage of a Grade II listed farmhouse and farmyard complex, involved a variety of traditional materials and techniques, using and retaining as much of the original structure as possible.
Amanda Watmore, who worked both on phase one of the development at TFT and phase two when she joined Jonathan Rhind in 2010, said: "I am proud to have worked on the project across its six year life span, from the nervous dismantling of the roof through to the meticulous archaeological repair and reassembly. This was a sometimes daunting task, with all of the issues thrown up when dealing with a historic Grade II listed building, but an immensely rewarding one too. The Tithe Barn has been restored back to its intended agricultural use and can now continue to be part of the landscape for years to come."
The restoration of the Tithe Barn Project required an acute understanding of building pathology and a dedication to diligence. Qualities displayed by both Jonathan Rhind's focus on high quality conservation projects and the attention to detail that TFT shows in its work on larger commercial instructions.-ends-
Nov 2012
Congratulations to Jonny Poland
Our congratulations go to Jonny Poland who has completed his Part III professional qualification and is now a chartered architect. Jonny is a valuable member of the team at our Shirwell office and has been with the practice for two years. He has taken a key role in a number of projects including a new pool house within an listed walled garden, the conversion of a derelict folly into holiday accommodation and extensive repairs and upgrade to a Grade II listed house. Jonny's interests are in creative re-use, sustainability and innovative design.
Oct 2012
European Award for restoration of medieval gem.
At a ceremony at the Poundstock Gildhouse on the 10th October, a plaque denoting the winner of the EU Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Award for Conservation was unvelied by Cornwall's Lord Lieutenant, Edward Bolitho, who praised the team responsible for brining the 500 year old building back to life.
Architect Jonathan Rhind said:"This delightful building was originally built for the community and the restoration has been achieved by the enthusiasm and dedication of the community."
For full article which featured in The Western Morning News, please click the pdf link.
October 2012
"Grand Prix" for Poundstock Gildhouse
Jonathan Rhind Architects received the EU Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Award for Conservation in Lisbon on Friday 1st June from the European Minister for Culture and Placido Domingo and in the presence of the President of Portugal for the Poundstock Gildhouse.
The jury described the project as:-
"Among the many sophisticated and palatial projects they were invited to consider, the Jury were excited to discover this modest but meticulously restored example of the vernacular. Church houses were truly communal buildings, combining functional spaces such as kitchens and meeting rooms, with an open hall above for village feasting and dancing. Few have survived. Poundstock Gildhouse, after periods as a school and a poorhouse, has since reverted to its original purpose. The Jury expressed unqualified admiration for the traditional techniques adopted in giving the cob walls, windows and timber-cruck roof a renewed lease of life".
June 2012
Pew repair complete at Church of St. James, Kings Nympton
Work has now been completed on the conservation and repair of an entire set of 18th and 19th century box pews. The pews as a whole were an unusual survival even though the individual panels and mouldings were fairly typical for the late Georgian period. Though not an outstanding piece of individual art, it is a consistent, delicate, well judged piece of of high quality.
The pews were removed from the church and then areas of missing panelling identified. They were repaired in a barn just outside the village by HIAX Conservation Builders. Most of the work involved renewing pins that had been rusted out for panelling with thin stainless steel screws and scarfing in of new timber panelling to areas that had been damaged and one or two replacements. All the joints were re-glued and clamped. The seats and props were remade and the pews returned to the church.
June 2012
