We bought Willow Springs cottage in the summer of 2014 and have spent eighteen months making much-needed repairs to it, inside and out. We got in touch with Stephanie as we'd heard about her friendly and calm approach - calm was something we needed faced with a house desperately in need of some TLC!
Built in the mid-1600s, the cottage underwent a major renovation in the late 1800s, when the timber-framed half of the cottage was rebuilt. An early photograph shows that this Victorian facsimile replaced a much older (we assume 17th Century) timber-framed structure, made up of twisted timber frame, a concoction of various infills and possibly a thatched roof.
The cottage was then extended in the 1960s, when the scullery in the Victorian part was doubled in size to form a small kitchen, and the large inglenook fireplace in the living room was sadly removed to create the entrance to a single-storey extension. Stephanie was involved from the offset, advising on many aspects of the project, from preparing us for discussions with the conservation officer through to offering creative input on changes to the use of the space.
Our main focus was on removing the inappropriate materials that had been used on the cottage over the previous decades. The main offender was the cement mix and gypsum plaster on around half of the internal walls. Fortunately, a good amount of the original lime plaster remained intact (or repairable) in the rest of the house, mostly on the upper floors. Similarly, on top of the earth floors on the ground floor, several layers of impermeable materials had been laid (such as roofing felt, concrete, plastic sheeting and carpeting) in an attempt to dry out and warm the house. Once removed, the house began to dry out beautifully, although the lower plasterwork was beyond repair where damp had been forced up the walls. Stephanie was a great help advising us before we made decisions about what we could save and what we would need to replace. For example, at one point (before we were fully read up on the best way to deal with heritage houses: "repair not replace!"), we had been advised to remove a cracked lime ash floor on the first floor. Thankfully Stephanie pointed out that aside from any structural problems this removal might cause, it would be a loss historically, so we went on to repair it, and we're so pleased we took her advice.
She created 3D renderings to help us envision how we could make the layout better suit our needs and add a nice flow and cosiness. She placed an emphasis on this, encouraging us to think in a very ‘human’ way about the way we wanted to live, work and play in our home.
Few structural changes were needed. We decided to demolish two items – the small extension to the living room and the two-storey bay windows, both structures added in the 1960s and in a poor state of repair; both changes prompting the conservation officer to comment “you’re the only people I’ve met who actually want to make their house smaller!” We also decided to move the bathroom from the ground floor to the room directly above, and to brick up a doorway which led from a small hallway/WC next to the bathroom into the Victorian dining room, making space for a downstairs WC.
Following this stage of the project, the uPVC windows were replaced with timber double-glazed units and the cottage was rewired and re-plumbed. In the living room and kitchen, limecrete floors were laid over foamed glass insulation and underfloor heating, with reclaimed York stone flags to finish.
A lime/hemp basecoat was applied thickly to the bare walls with a lime putty topcoat. In the dining room, we revealed a Victorian arched brick fireplace, which we went on to clean up and repoint. The cottage was painted throughout with clay paint.
Work continues - I feel it may for a while yet as this little old house presents new challenges from time to time– but it is a lovely to place to live. Thank you to Stephanie for her calm and thoughtful guidance, expertise and know-how throughout the process.
12 Comments