Wealden Times | WT228 | May 2021 | Restoration & New Build supplement inside

Restoration & New Build Supplement sponsored by S C
Case Study:
The
Time
Warp
Clague Architects recall one of their favourite
Kentish restoration projects, a house trapped between
two eras, brought into the 21st Century
Our first impression of the Parsonage
was that of a 17th century home that
had once been extended with a Victorian
makeover and was now in a state of
arrested decay. It had clearly been loved by
many over the years but now had become
trapped in time. The task at hand for
us was to transform the interior of the
property, working closely with interior
designer Charlotte Crosland, forming
and submitting the planning and listed
building application along with overseeing
the project onsite and acting as contract
administrators. With some clever tricks
and good design, it was clear the house
could become a very special home.
The property was now in private hands
but was previously the home of the local
Parson, and had been excessively extended
in the Victorian period to be befitting
of the clergy linked to the local estate.
Because of this, the house was something
of a tale of two centuries. The 17th century
baffle entry home was brick built with
historic timber joists and beams, and a
large brick-built stack. Meanwhile, in the
Victorian wing, beautifully ornate and lofty
rooms were filled with an air of high status.
With so much history and character
packed into one house, the challenge
was to maintain as many of the original
features as possible while also giving it a
renewed sense of vitality and continuity. In
the formal drawing room, for example, we
had to do extensive repairs to the windows
and introduce new underfloor heating
throughout, but the rest of the Victorian
features were left intact and celebrated. The
delightful cornicing was in great condition
because it was protected by a historic
double ceiling, preventing movement
on the floor above from interfering with
the decoration below. Likewise, in the
hallway, the cornice and skirting were left
intact, and our works focused on a new
underheated stone floor and some interior
design magic to add light and warmth.
The historic timber was maintained
as much as possible throughout the 17th
century areas. We carried out repair work
to the historic joists in the snug, and, in
the new dining room, the original floor
was given a makeover and the ceiling was
repaired from above, leaving the timbers
in place and visibly unaltered from below.
This room was one of the bigger projects
of the house as it was originally the old
kitchen. The owners wanted to move the
kitchen so that it could look out over the
expansive gardens to the south, which
meant that this room became the new
dining room, and we could really show
off its glorious fireplace, and make it
usable for its intended purpose. Another
big project which had great results was
the wine cellar. The entirety of the cellar
floor was dug out, with the historic
bricks set aside and stored to then be laid
back on top of the new floor, so that we
could get a striking contrast between the
authentic brickwork and the room’s new
bright walls and contemporary storage.
In the end, the worn-down house
once divided by the two periods that
formed it, was brought together by
adding a third period: the present. The
contemporary styling throughout gave
the house a common thread to connect
the varying architectural styles, and
some much needed TLC made the many
character features both as good as new
and firmly rooted in their history.
clague.co.uk
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