Conygar

Conversion of outbuildings forming part of a Grade II listed house into habitable accommodation.

The Challenge

‘Conygar’ is one of the original houses to be constructed on the Four Oaks Estate and was designed in 1907 by renowned architects of the time Crouch & Butler, It was recently given listed status in recognition of the Arts & Crafts design of the property and grounds.

The property has extensive outbuildings including a yard with glazed roof leading to a building containing various store rooms and a coach house, there had also been a 1960’s ‘snooker room’ extension to the side of the property and adjoining the glazed yard which was not in-keeping with the original design.

The new owner of the property having bought the main house interior up to date, wished to make use of the outbuildings which he had little use for, and convert them into new habitable accommodation, including a large kitchen space to replace the original kitchen, which by modern standards was quite small.

The Solution

Carrying out works on Listed buildings can be onerous and restrictive with regards to what can and cannot be done, Janes Architectural involved the Authorities Conservation / Listed Buildings Officer from an early stage to establish what would be both possible and acceptable with regard to the proposed works.

We agreed for the internal walls of the store building to be removed, and the ‘infill’ glazed structure over the yard to be replaced with a contemporary aluminium framed glazed structure so as to show itself as a ‘new addition’ to the building. With regard to the 1960’s extension we agreed to alter it to make it more sympathetic to the original house with a ‘rough cast’ rendered finish, windows of the same style and proportion, and the addition of an octagonal glazed roof-light to the existing flat roof to provide more natural light into the space.

With regard to the new spaces, the old snooker room became a hi-tech cinema room, the glazed yard became a wonderful new kitchen with doors out to the grounds, and the outbuildings became a new casual dining and lounge area open to the kitchen, making a large family space that the original house lacked. The original kitchen was retained as a utility / servery for the original dining room.

In summary the outbuildings and old extension were successfully converted into modern light and spacious open plan living accommodation without adversely affecting the integrity and appearance of the original house.

Clients View

We enjoyed working with Janes Architectural on this project. We recognised that we were undertaking a major challenge to convert the existing space into a modern habitual space but most importantly keeping in character with the existing house.

Simon worked closely with us to come up with a design that would meet our needs but would also be considered sympathetically by the Council. We are delighted that Simon helped us achieve that.

We now have a living space that compliments our existing house in a seamless way and that offers us a first class modern living space in keeping with the rest of the house. Simon was very professional throughout the project in his dealings with us. We would have no hesitation in recommending Janes Architectural to others looking to undertake similar projects.

Mr & Mrs P Singh