From Burnt Out Cottage to Family Home

A burnt-out old cottage is transformed into an elegant new family home —thanks to the vision of its owners, Scott Joyce and Rachel Lawlor.

It’s not often that houses at the end of long, tree-lined driveways really live up to the heightened sense of anticipation that their surroundings promise. Leomansley Manor is different. For Rachel Lawlor and Scott Joyce and their young family, their new home is the result of 18 months of hard work, determination, a not inconsiderable amount of money and an even greater portion of vision.

Scott and Rachel were living in a farmhouse they had renovated for themselves, and were not particularly looking to move when they came across the original Leomansley Manor, which had been on the market for some nine months and looked, in all honesty, a pretty sorry state. The site consisted of three very small cottages, including a mill house and pools, which had been occupied by Eilidh Armour-Brown, an internationally renowned artist. After her death the house had gone into a state of chronic disrepair brought on by age and vandalism, so much so that what Scott and Rachel bought was a burnt-out shell with few visible clues to the past.

“The site came with planning consent to demolish the existing house and build in its place an oak framed manor house,” explains Scott. “After looking at the drawings, however, we decided that it wasn’t to our taste. We consulted several local architects, all of whom strongly suggested knocking it down and starting again, but only one, Andrew Gifford, could share our vision that there was something special in the existing structure that could be saved and used as a basis for something bigger and better. We looked to mirror the old mill house, giving us a grander, double-fronted appearance; Rachel loved the idea of incorporating a castle turret somewhere in the design, and the kids had always wanted an indoor pool. Three months after buying the property, we submitted plans for a partial demolition and significant renovation, knowing that every detail would have to be right for it to work.”

As the property had been left empty for more than ten years, the renovation work would be treated in VAT purposes as a conversion, which meant that one of the usual reasons for demolishing and rebuilding over renovating was eliminated.

Scott, who works in the building trade, oversaw the project, which started on site in July 2006, with a full piling foundation design. Being busy running his own business, he employed a local builder and school friend Darren John to run the day-to-day construction element of the project because, in addition to being ambitious in its design, Scott and Rachel were also pretty ambitious in its schedule, too: they wanted to be in by Christmas. “With pressure getting tight towards the end of the project,” explains Scott, “that meant putting lots of people on it at the same time. At one stage we had 15 men working on the roof, and when it came to finishing off the inside, it was so busy it actually became quite difficult to co-ordinate the different trades.”

One of Scott and Rachel’s keys to success was attention to detail in the design. “We kept a scrapbook of exterior and interior design ideas and saw some windows in an old manor house that we loved,” says Rachel, “and so when we came to think about windows, rather than have oak frames, we decided to opt for stone — an idea that Andrew, our architect, encouraged.” “Initially,” continues Scott, “but then we got some quotes in for real stone. One of the cheaper prices we had was £6,000, and £1,500 extra for fitting — it sounded brilliant, so I confirmed with him, ‘What, £1,500 for the full job?’ and the salesman said, ‘No, per window.’ I knew then that we would have to look elsewhere. We considered oak but in the end chose reconstituted stone. A lot of recon has a weird colour but this, from Cotswold Bath & Stone, looks like the real thing — and at a fraction of the price.” Metal double-glazed sealed units complete the look.

Scott and Rachel have gone to great lengths to find materials that complement the history of the structure. Bricks and roof tiles were sourced from nearby Cawarden Reclamation, while the impressive stone fire surround in the main living room was a snip from Cotswold Bath & Stone at just £325. The beautiful Indian stone pavers that surround the property – the same colour as those at nearby Lichfield Cathedral – were sourced at the same reclamation yard.

“One of the most difficult elements of the project was dealing with the several changes in floor and ceiling height throughout the house,” Scott explains. “Andrew felt that changes were important to give impact to particular spaces and to work around the existing building, which occupies about 100m2 of the 640m2 home. It proved very tricky from a setting-out point of view but I’ll admit that it has made all the difference in clearly marking out the new sections of the house from the old.”

With underfloor heating throughout – the floor structures in the existing part of the house were changed so significantly that pipes could be laid even there – there is a warm and cosy feel right through, helped by the introduction of Gyproc (a highly insulative drylining board) on the inside of existing walls, a fully filled cavity on new external walls and Celotex in between rafters in the roof —“All of which means that the gas bills here are incredibly low,” says Scott.

Inside, the house is essentially the perfect family home.With the complete interior scheme designed by Rachel, luxury is a watchword for every decision, from the indoor pool (with a gym at mezzanine level above) down to the two cinema rooms, basement games room (the existing house had a cellar that it seemed sensible to convert) and an extensive 140m2 attic floor that will serve as yet more useful living space. Set in six perfectly landscaped acres (enjoying access to dozens more), with the original ponds restored to their former glory and a tennis court in the back garden, this is a house that really does make the most of its unique setting.

This is a project borne out of a singular vision and determination. “When people say that they can’t find a project or a plot, it always makes me smile,” says Scott. “This had been on the market for months at the height of a property boom and no one had the bravery to take it on.” Considering that at a conservative estimate they will have enjoyed a £1million-plus return on their investment in less than two years, their foresight and calculated risk has spectacularly paid off. Not that Scott and Rachel are planning to move: “The kids keep spotting derelict houses from the car and saying that we should do it all again,” sighs Scott. “I would be happy to, but I can’t imagine finding anywhere more perfect than this."