Stories. Notes. Jottings.
Future Perfect: four listings with planning permission
When it comes to historic homes, we’re all for gilding the lily if it means making a beautiful thing even better – not least if the admin’s already out the way. Here we present a crop of houses with plenty of prospects
Norton Disney, Lincoln, Lincolnshire
We’ve already written once about what makes this three-bedroom barn conversion near Lincoln so exceptional. But it’s that good, we think it’s worth repeating. With its exposed timber frame, double-height sitting room and bright central courtyard, it’s a great advert for the sensitive reuse of agricultural buildings. Reimagined honestly, using the same red brick and solid oak of the original construction, these barns – which once serviced the Norton Disney estate – now speak as fluently to their farming past as they do to life in the 21st century.
But there’s room yet for change: planning permission has been granted to extend the house, meaning you could increase the footprint of the east wing and add another storey, making space for more living, bedroom and studio space upstairs.
View listing here.
Sunnyside Cottage, Tilshead, Wiltshire
Regular Almanac readers may have enjoyed our recent interview with the brilliant architect Chris Dyson, who added a series of modern extensions to his 17th-century thatched house in Suffolk. Now it’s your turn to do something similar.
From the outside, this 17th-century cottage in the Wiltshire village of Tilshead, on Salisbury Plain, is every bit the chocolate-box delight of postcards past, with its symmetrical frontage, shuttered windows and neat thatched porch. Someone with an eye on the future, however, has made the sensible decision to apply for consent for two further bedrooms to be built on to the existing structure, bringing the total to five. It’s a wise decision – though, taking in the gently modernised interiors and thoughtfully decorated rooms, we wouldn’t blame you for keeping it just the way it is, either…
View listing here.
Wisteria House, Littleworth, Oxfordshire
There’s much to admire about Wisteria House, from the location (just 20 minutes from the Cotswolds) to the spruce front garden, the pretty colour palette to the suntrap of a rubble-walled courtyard. In fact, it’s pretty much perfect as it is.
That said, have you spotted the workshop at the back of the house, separated from it by a winsome gravel path and made of honey-coloured stone? At 532sq ft, it’s a jolly useful space – one that would be made all the more so if a willing buyer made good on the planning permission that’s been granted to it. The idea is that, with some sensitive intervention, it could be transformed into self-contained accommodation, perfect for visiting friends, grown-up children or even paying guests, should you wish. Suddenly, things seem even more perfect…
View listing here.
Lees Road, Yalding, Kent
Oh, the joys of Kent! The sunniest county in England has long attracted the great and the good, as well as those in search of warmer climes or limpid light, from JMW Turner to Vita Sackville-West, Charles Dickens to Sid Vicious. Another Kent enthusiast was Edith Nesbit, author of The Railway Children, who often visited the village of Yalding, where this Georgian beauty is to be found.
While she didn’t stay here, the building has robust local provenance, having belonged to a captain, a canon, a colonel and a lady in its 300-year history. Now, there’s a chance for someone else to make their mark, as the garages that join the house along a gravelled path have permission to be converted. The new set-up, fitted with an oak-and-peg-tile roof, will see the footprint doubled in size, with enough room for four cars. Alternatively, you could use the space for a tractor, garden storage and log piles.
View listing here.
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