Late-Medieval House, Suffolk

This project began as a self-build renovation by Mark Hoare in his early thirties; we are strong believers in learning by doing and getting our hands dirty at home.

The house – which mostly dates from the sixteenth century – was fully refurbished in 2006 with new doors and windows to replace unsympathetic 1970s joinery. It was externally insulated with breathable woodfibre insulation and finished with lime plaster and limewash.

In 2021 a new wing was added to provide a new family kitchen and more bedroom space for Mark’s growing family. The new wing achieves high levels of energy efficiency, again using natural woodfibre insulation, but to greater thicknesses that was achievable in the old part of the house. Heating is via a ground source heat pump.

The garden has been created over the last 15 years and includes areas of semi-formal planting, an orchard, topiary, wildflower meadows and a grass amphitheatre.