The Grange

The Grange was a beautiful grade II listed building consisting of a brick/timber frame that was first built in 1570, with further work being carried out in 1690. This rural country house, located in the quaint sleepy Suffolk village of Little Thurlow was steeped in character.

After a severe fire on the third floor destroyed almost the entire roof structure, the building was then left unattended for 18 months. The damage was so great it was almost beyond repair.

In September of 2015 an ambitious new owner, with the determination to take on the sizeable task contacted Notley & Co. Plans were drawn up for a sympathetic reconstruction of the building with the goal to restore it to its previous grandeur and character.

Notley & Co were the best solution for this project because of our extensive experience in all aspects of the commercial and domestic construction industry, and indeed with fire and blast damage as well as listed restoration projects.

When work began, the first task was the hugely damaged roof. Notley & Co constructed this using green oak principal trusses with pegged collars. Ensuring every aspect of the building was kept as close to the original design as possible was paramount throughout this project, which is why Notley & Co used redwood for the infill trusses. The original wall plates, also in oak, were repaired or replaced where necessary.

Chris Notley and his team did a truly amazing job for us. The most refreshing aspect for us was his ‘can do’ attitude - not the easiest to achieve when you are working within the constraints of a listed building. We would recommend him without reservation.

- Nigel Short - The Grange

Internally, the water damaged ceilings and walls were restored using traditional lime plaster techniques. Damaged doors and architraves were exactly matched to the original, as well as the windows and wall panelling.

The existing lime render externally, had failed due to the application of plastic paint and cement, which prevented the building from breathing. All the existing lime render was therefore delicately removed and replaced with new lime render to enable the building to breathe again, literally bringing it back to life.

In addition to the full restoration and careful rebuild of the structure, there was also a lot of work to be done in the grounds of the building. This included the rebuilding of the curved roadside wall some thirty metres long, and landscaping too. This was carried using the original and reclaimed matching bricks and careful design again in keeping with traditional techniques and styles.

The total project, from the burnt out shell of the old building to the completed and fully restored house and grounds was just 26 weeks.

This was a project we were proud to be involved in as a company and one that reflects our core values of respect to original structure and style, as well as care in the restoration. Projects like this require a steady and experienced hand in order to successfully resurrect the building without losing it's soul along the way.