Mill House By: hetreed ross architects A challenging brief has been met, successfully retaining and enhancing the house’s historic character whilst achieving low energy consumption, well below building regulations requirements. Mill House was a fairly typical South Gloucestershire farmhouse of 16th C origins and with lucrative connections with the wool trade. It had been patched and repaired over the generations, cement rendered, various windows installed and minor alterations done internally, until stripping out by previous owners in pursuit of ‘modernisation’ prompted “spot Listing” to protect what still remained of its historic interior features. Since so few of these had survived the recent strip out, it was vital to conserve and celebrate any historic building fabric that remained. This included decorative plaster features, inglenook fireplaces and an undulating elm floor originally used as a weaving loft by a 17th century textile merchant. Our clients bought it at this point with the ambitious goal of combining a sympathetic restoration with advanced eco-refurbishment. Our first task was to negotiate with the Listed Building Officer the best balance of environmental improvement and appropriate restoration: it turned out that its 20th C history of “normal repair and maintenance” worked in our clients’ favour to allow … Continue reading The Eco Refurbishment of a Listed Building