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The Cottage at Bythorn is a Grade 11 listed stone built property. The owners approached Notley & Co and briefed us to carry out a complete restoration and a sympathetically integrated extension. 

 

The restoration work was relatively straightforward. However, the extension – in places two storey, but with a single storey kitchen extension – required sourcing materials to match the existing structure.  We obtained reclaimed Collyweston slate and local stone to ensure that the new extension matched the existing structure and looked as timeless as the original.

 

The original walls are of a solid stone construction 80 cm thick. We built the new extension in the same way but with the addition of insulation placed on the inside to meet Building Regulation requirements.

 

The roof provided an interesting challenge, as Collyweston slate is not a material that is familiar to most roofing companies as it is a stone rather than slate and much heavier than modern materials.  It is found in narrow limestone beds quarried near the village of Collyweston in Northamptonshire. The stone comes from the quarry in its raw form and is selected and cut to different sizes based on the intended position on the roof.  Once prepared they are laid out on the ground to mirror the roof, starting with the largest stones at the base and reducing in size to the ridge. 

 

The completed restoration and extension provided the owners with all of the additional accommodation they desired in an extension that, like the original house, fits it’s environment perfectly and looks as though it has been there for centuries.