Derelict to designer
Above: Lowerfield Farm
As Paul Lavelle was cycling through the lanes near Cirencester with his friend, sportscaster Tim Russon, they spotted a very striking, although derelict, Cotswold stone barn for sale.
“It was standing among an assortment of farm buildings, some modern, some old but all were up for sale as one lot to be sold by sealed bid through the County Council,” says Paul a businessman, environmentalist and Arctic explorer.
As it happened Paul and his partner Sara Anton, a psychology teacher, were looking for a building project and Paul was very much attracted by the 400-year-old barn which turned out to have a Grade I listing.
However Sara found it huge and creepy and would have preferred to convert the smaller cowshed next to it.
“The barn was overwhelming but then I looked out through an opening and saw there were amazing views over the countryside with cows grazing peacefully; I could see this part would make a perfect bedroom with such a lovely view,” she says.
The couple made a successful offer then spent nine months demolishing the surrounding modern tin-roofed sheds, deciding on how to preserve the barn and getting planning permission.
Although up to the time of purchase cows were still using the barn, it turned out that the roof timbers were so rotten it was too dangerous even to enter it. “So we decided to put on a brand new roof but to our horror the listed buildings officer told us we could not. At one point it looked as though all we’d done was buy a very expensive farm just to look after some cows. Then eventually we realised that we could strengthen the roof using steel girders and disguise them behind the existing timbers.”
It took two years to renovate the barn and they did a lot of the work themselves with the help of Steve Barton, a master carpenter who became their project manager and who sub-contracted when necessary.
As environmentalists the couple were determined to rebuild the barn to the highest quality. So they not only have cutting-edge plumbing and wiring systems but insulation up to Swedish standards and hidden from view are miles of wires and pipes providing under-floor and in-wall heating.
You can read more of this article in the September issue of Cotswold Life, on sale now.