Local materials salvaged from around the site...
This was a landscaping project which Peter managed during the summer of 2005. The client had large quantities of materials (including stone slabs, bricks and rubble) on-site, which they insisted must be used. An important part of the brief was that the work should exactly match the existing stonework of the newly completed barn restoration. This has been pointed using specialist lime mortars and we were able to obtain supplies of lime and sand from the same quarries to complete the match.
Peter was given a design brief which was modified on an almost daily basis as the work progressed. The intention of the finished design was to link the main stone barn with a smaller timber framed building, and ultimately to the farmhouse. These were roughly at right angles to the barn, but numerous level changes and twists in direction necessitated some unusual curvature in the flights of steps - this maintained a natural flow to the design and provided soft edges to what could easily have become a series of rectangular paths.
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Materials used here were old bricks taken from the house and cleaned, together with 'Forest of Dean' rock chippings laid on top of landscaping membrane to prevent weeds growing. |
Above...
These photos show the heavy limestone slabs which used to line the barn itself, being laid on a cement bed with a brick surround. It took 3 or 4 people to safely move each of the larger slabs. They are unusual, in that not many of the old Wenlock Limestone slabs survive these days - some are over 6 inches thick and can weigh half a tonne. The wall in the background was built from stone salvaged from walls which had been pulled down elsewhere on the site. The stone itself is a brecciated conglomerate, made up of angular red fragments of volcanic ash, and we have used a lime mortar with a very reddish - pink sand for the pointing. This blends beautifully with the barn itself.
Above...
Detail of the stone wall which retains the back of the patio area. Curved steps make a difficult corner flow to the next level, and provide space for an old english rambling rose which is planted in the corner.
