Old Fovant House, Fovant

With its origins in the C17th, Old Fovant House had seen various additions, the more modern ones of which had not done it any great favours. A cart shed had been converted into a garage, with prominent and unattractive up and over doors. The main focus of the work had been on rebuilding this, with a new oak trussed roof, metal framed glazing in the door openings, and stonework repaired or rebuilt, very successfully. This enabled the creation of an excellent kitchen, previously located in a cramped and almost windowless space at the back of the house. An unattractive conservatory, also at the rear, had been replaced by an extension of more linear form, providing a dining room area which linked the new kitchen to utility and other facilities in the northern end of the house. The judges were particularly impressed by the way this had been given a mono pitched roof pointing up towards the sky, giving views of terrace and garden areas formed out of the upwards sloping land behind the building. Beyond the new kitchen a timber frame garage had been created, with the local topography cleverly taken advantage of to provide access at the rear to a useful space created in the roof. High standards of detailing, material selection and workmanship had clearly gone into creating a much improved house, with splendid kitchen and dining facilities, and better circulation through the building, and with a keen architect’s eye visible throughout.

Architect: John Comparelli, Tisbury