Our client appointed RBA in 2022 to carry out works to this beautiful mill house just outside Salisbury. She wanted to modernise the house for family life, and restore the old mill and river room while respecting its historical and heritage importance. The renovations use sustainable technologies to lower the carbon footprint of the building.

The works include a sensitively designed, contemporary rear extension to replace an existing conservatory. This forms part of an open plan kitchen-living-dining area and looks out over the garden and river. The extension uses Corten steel beams and aluminium sliding glazed doors with a floating corner. It has a green roof to encourage wildlife such as birds and insects, further reducing its environmental impact.

Across the rest of the house, the windows will be replaced. New dormer windows have clay roofs and hanging tiles to match the existing windows. Other amendments include timber cladding to the rear of the house, and a ground floor bay window.

The works convert a garden building to an artist’s studio by removing the loft floorboards and installing conservation-style rooflights. Large steel-framed doors and windows in the gable end allow extra light in.

Externally, landscaping works include the addition of a new terrace. The installation of a water source heat pump in the river provides heat to the house and studio.

Ecology

The building’s location on the river meant attention had to be paid to the ecological impact of the renovations. Daniel Ahern Ecology carried out an ecology survey to check what wildlife was present on site. As well as the presence of bats, they found there was a chance that otters and voles might visit the site. As part of the planning consent, Wiltshire Council also requested an construction management plan to protect the river.

Planning Permission

Wiltshire Council granted planning permission in January 2023 and Roman Fox Construction started work shortly after.