completion date:

August 2022​

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awards:

Best Non-Residential Extension, Alteration or Conversion (winner)

2024 Regional LABC Building Excellence Awards (Yorkshire Region)

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Mill Farm, Low Mill

Farndale, North York Moors National Park

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Mill Farm is a listed former farmhouse and collection of outbuildings located in the hamlet of Low Mill in Farndale. The site is located close to the start of the famous daffodil walk that attracts visitors every spring to view the wild daffodils along the River Dove. 

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Mill Farm was built in the early 18th century, with additions throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. When BBL started working at the site, there were very few internal features remaining and doors, fireplaces and stair fixtures had been replaced along with floor finishes. There were multiple original openings that had been blocked with modern stone and concrete. It could safely be described as derelict. There was little to no insulation in the building, with windows and doors leaving much to be desired. However, the building of course had great charm and this was to be harnessed in the sensitive renovation. It must also be noted that the building housed plank and muntin partitions, which were lovingly restored and now form a key point of interest between the living room and kitchen.

 

The site had an extensive planning history, but with little having been actioned to restore the home and outbuildings. They form a comparatively large central site in a small rural hamlet, and hence it was important to both the Estate and the local community to repair the buildings and bring them back in to use, in turn improving the overall aesthetic. 

 

The site also housed a former piggery, a southern extension with lean-to, and an agricultural pole barn, all of which have under gone extensive work in order to bring them back in to use. Whilst these now appear as separate dwellings, they are best appreciated as a single project.

 

Prior to our work on the Mill Farm site, there had been a scheme approved calling for new concrete floors throughout, including externally to the building apron, and insulated plasterboard internally. We felt that limecrete floor and hot lime insulating plaster would be far more sensitive to the development, creating a breathable house that utilises the thermal mass of the original stone walls to create a comfortable environment year round. These materials are far more fitting with a building of this age and nature, and allow for moisture transfer in a natural way. We have also used wood fibre insulation in the roof ; again opting for breathable natural materials.

 

Outside, Mill Farmhouse has enclosed private gardens to the east and west ; the west boasts a view across the newly established wildflower meadow toward the beck and wooded surrounds. Due to the nature of the site and the listed building status, it was not possible to make the full dwelling accessible, however the ground floor does provide level access and includes an ensuite double bedroom.

 

We were fortunate enough to work with Jay Sumner-Brown (The Yorkshire Plasterer) and Michael James Design to bring excellent thermal performance whilst retaining breathability ; particularly important to older buildings and the materials used within. We have used a limecrete underfloor heating slab throughout, and the use of underfloor heating rather than radiators reduces the need for pipework and associated energy losses. 

 

This project was delivered by a design team with specialist expertise in working in sensitive rural locations, including Bramhall Blenkharn Architects, Harland Builders LTD, Mason Clark Engineers, AWP Project Management, MAB Ecology, and Jessica Brook Interiors.

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The Village Store

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As part of the wider development of the Mill Farm site, the lean to on the eastern side of the southernmost building was developed to provide a village shop. The lean to was divided into three bays, on three levels. Planning approval was sought after the approval for the residential site ; with access to the shop from the most southern accommodation, which had been designed as a local occupancy rental house. This created the opportunity for a “live in” head shop keeper.

 

Historically, the lean-to had been used as a butcher’s shop and smithy ; both of which were identified on the 1893 map. This further supported the development of a retail unit at the site.

 

As with the rest of the Mill Farm site, concrete floors were removed and replaced with limecrete flooring, and loose masonry was replaced with hot-lime repointing. Due to the listed building status, on a sloping site, it was not possible to provide a fully level and accessible building, but the opening of the village stores sees the first shop opening in Farndale in 100 years. The location, at the start of the famous daffodil walk  along the River Dove, is ideal for both day trippers and more longer term residents, and of course adds convenience for local tourism. 

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The Oak Barn

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Part of the wider project, the previously run down agricultural barn has been sensitively developed in order to be an incredibly functional building. It now provides parking for four cars, electric vehicle charging, ample storage for items required by the rental accommodation as well as storage for the shop, a dedicated plant room for the full site, laundry room, and a bat habitat. Given its location in the North York Moors National Park, dark skies compliant lighting has been used to safely light the area whilst limiting light pollution.

 

Where once was an open corrugated metal agricultural barn, there is now an oak frame car port with bat loft, and an enclosed section housing the plant room and storage space. This scheme proposed a far larger bat habitat than had been previously approved; a 6m long open flight bat loft adjacent to the beck and wooded area, which are bat hunting grounds. The plant room allowed for a central mechanical and engineering point for the site, avoiding tanks and boilers in individual buildings. The barn development also incorporated unheated storage space and washing / drying facilities ; given that the properties are to be used as rental accommodation, these facilities allow for the estate to store occasional use items on site, such as Christmas decorations, and process laundry on site but out of the homes in turn helping to reduce carbon footprint.