womersley houses
We have provided design services up to and including a planning application for two self-build houses in the village of Womersley, North Yorkshire – one a conversion of two existing stone barns and the other a new-build replacement of an undistinguished former agricultural shed. The site is part of a larger smallholding and is designated as a conservation area within greenbelt land. Located on the edge of the village, the land currently comprises a range of barns formerly part of the farmyard of the adjacent empty farmhouse, also due to be refurbished by our clients.
The architecture of the village is quite distinctive, with rough cut high limestone walls creating strong boundary edges to individual village plots. Buildings have typically narrow footprints with steep red pantile roofs and gable ends, sometimes extended with catslides. We have reinterpreted this architectural language and form, creating a shared entrance courtyard fronting the main road, opening up the flank of the main retained converted barn, and arranging a new-build dwelling perpendicular to this, designed with a cottage typology in mind.
The scheme is designed to work with the gently sloping topography of the existing site. The conversion steps up with a sequence of level changes and it is organised internally to limit the introduction of new window openings so as to retain its characteristic barn appearance. The new-build house cuts into the slope, minimising its visual impact within the greenbelt, and has a catslide roof that creates a generous ground floor living room volume, part of an open plan arrangement for cooking, dining and living. The fireplace divides the space into distinct areas with a double height area connecting to a gallery at first floor, and an enclosed study area looking back down into the living space below.
A combination of limestone and harling reflects the materials used locally.