COUNTRY HOUSE Wargrave

Project Description

Retrofit and extension of a grade ll listed riverside property near Henley set within 8 acres of mature gardens.

Wargrave Court has its origins in the early 16th century whereby it functioned as the original medieval manor for Wargrave. At this time it was a much smaller building with what is now the reception hall being the main front, jettied to the north, east and south with a two storey cross wing to the rear. The surviving timber framing for this earliest part of the building can be seen internally. The manor was comprehensively redeveloped in the C18th and late C19th/early C20th in the Tudor half-timbered style. Architecturally, the building is a palimpsest of phases of development and later alteration. Externally, these different layers are clearly legible and provide an appreciable understanding of how the building was altered through the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Our proposal is one further layer in the manor’s development, read and understood as a part of the overall architectural composition.

The brief from the client was for a wholesale refurbishment and extension to prolong the life of the house and make it a sustainable place to live in terms of ongoing operational energy costs. The challenge was to how to retrofit the historic fabric to meet contemporary requirements for well insulated, air tight buildings and there was also a desire to forge a greater visual connection to the river and grounds from one of the principal living spaces.

The siting of the extension was chosen to avoid detrimental impact to the significant, historic fabric. The overall form of the rear extension is intended to continue the gable-shaped dialogue of the house. It offers a clearly contemporary addition that is respectful to the host structure and responsive to the surrounding context. This is achieved by ensuring the scale of the addition is set back from and below the existing gable as a subservient addition. This also ensures that the extension does not interfere with the architectural feature of the tile creaser details at the eaves and ridge.