THE OLD RECTORY

THE OLD RECTORY, HAVERSHAM, MILTON KEYNES

After a thorough and engaged process with conservation officers at Milton Keynes Council, including two rounds of site walk-arounds, we received listed building consent in spring 2022. The grade II house, previously the rectory for the nearby medieval parish church, is a fascinating patchwork of styles and periods, including substantial early Georgian elements. Fortunately, our clients are sympathetic to the fact that living in, adapting and renovating such a house is a labour of love and requires a fine-grained attention to detail and quirks; working with rather than against the grain of the building. That said, we have designed a contemporary extension that will contain a kitchen, dining and family room that nonetheless takes its material cues from the host building, using special bricks replicating the Georgian originals and natural slates. It moves beyond these parameters with an elegant bay design defined by natural, aged oak posts and establishes a crisp but subordinate massing to the host building – a rural, contextual modernism. Our proposal replaces a workshop that has dilapidated to a point beyond repair.

Construction commenced on site and is expected to complete in late 2023.