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HOUSE IN THE COTSWOLDS
New dwelling, Churchill
2024 -​

New build two bedroom home in the garden of a semi-detached cottage within the Churchill Conservation Area in the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The existing cottage is one of a pair of semi-detached, two storey, limestone rubble cottages dating from between the late 18th and early 19th Century, it sits alongside a limestone rubble outbuilding on a large 760sqm plot. This site has been the subject of two previous proposals for new dwellings both refused permission with officers citing concerns over scale and massing of the proposals, incongruous development pattern, design, and impact on neighbouring amenity. Beginning with a thorough analysis of the site and the wider development pattern of Churchill, we have put forward a proposal for the redevelopment of the cottage and outbuilding, with a context driven proposal for a new home within a redesigned communal garden.

The built context is characterised by the use of Oolitic Limestone from the Cotswolds Hills most commonly paired with slate or tiled roofs in a mix of two storey semi-detached cottages and larger detached dwellings. To the north there is a clear pattern of street-facing dwellings with stepped roof forms creating a broadly continuous frontage; building plots are generally long and thin in profile with further development in some instances to the rear of sites, typically hugging the boundary enclosing the garden in an L-shaped formation. To the south and west of the site, the frontages become less regular with larger properties set within generous plots.

The new proposal consists of the refurbishment of the cottage and replacement of a poorly build 20th Century extension to the rear; the conversion of the outbuilding for residential use with a small extension to link it back to the cottage; and the new dwelling which is set back from the street along the south western boundary, echoing the historic development pattern of the village. The building is single storey with living spaces and bedroom on the ground floor, and a second bedroom within the steeply pitched roof - a form characteristic of The Cotswolds. It presents only a narrow gable end to the street, remaining subservient to the existing frontage, preserving the openness of the site and the amenity of neighbouring properties.

Clad in limestone rubble with a simple pointed verge detail and minimal glazing on the street facing facade, the new dwelling echoes the traditional outbuildings on neighbouring plots, it includes a single slot window at high level in the gable end which is common within the village. The roof steps down in three sections, following the topography of the site whilst the plan steps inwards at the same time to reduce the bulk of the building. On the long, low, garden-facing elevation, limestone rubble is paired with natural cedar boards, with full-height vertical format openings separating the two meaning that the building presents a very traditional face to the street whilst becoming lighter and more open further into the site. Referencing this, the bedrooms and utility spaces are arranged in the first and second sections of the building with lower ceiling heights allowing a second storey, and smaller openings giving privacy. The living spaces are housed in three third section where larger expanses of glazing provide a direct connection to the garden, and the volume extends to the full height of the roof void.