Penton – Residential and Commercial

Alterations & Extension to an Existing Barn Conversion; Addition of Agricultural Buildings

Original Survey – Late Summer 2017 – Works Ongoing.

Our clients own a former farm near Penton, north Cumbria, and have diversified the business and provide holiday accommodation for private guests and fields for agricultural tenants.
Our clients live in one of a series of barn conversions on the farm and wished to improve upon the living accommodation that was the result of several previous architects’ schemes. On the first floor, there was significant wasted space and also wasted opportunities for exploiting some great views out over open countryside and our brief was to review the layout, add bathroom facilities and devise a way of giving the main bedroom access to the views and an external terrace.

Original rear elevation

Our design achieved this by adding in a new, glazed gable to the side elevation that led directly out onto a partly covered terrace with the option of a short flight of steps down to the existing raised garden. A generous-sized shower room was added to the first floor and the storage and circulation rationalised. In addition, a new enclosed porch was added to the main entrance and the circulation tweaked to provide improved pedestrian access with further scope for wheelchair access at a later date.

Nearing completion

A second project applied for in parallel on the property was to obtain planning approval for a decent agricultural building for storage and maintenance of machinery used in association with the management of the client’s land. This was also designed in a way that allows future conversion to cottage industry uses should the client wish to diversify further and was tucked away in the landscape so as to be unobtrusive to both neighbours and guests staying in the holiday accommodation.