Turning a two hundred and fifty year old listed building into a modern day mansion is no easy feat when you're looking to combine what was once a stately period home with today's modern eco standards.
The original mansion at Foots Cray Place burned down in 1949, leaving just the stables and a few other buildings in any fit state to restore. But Barry Morgan of Morgan Restoration had a vision of how the estate, which had previously belonged to Lord Waring, could once again thrive.
"We wanted to prove we could make a listed building eco and to do as much as possible to bring it into the present by using the latest energy efficient technology," explains Barry Morgan. Two years later, the transformation is complete.
Despite its green credentials and reuse of materials where appropriate, the building does not hold back on any luxury. The living accommodation, spread across 10,000 sq ft, is extensive and yet it has the same energy efficiency as a new build apartment.
Much of this is through clever use of the "free" energy including solar panels that heat the swimming pool, provide all of the hot water and some of the underfloor heating.
Heat transmission is further controlled by a heat recovery ventilation system, the use of high insulation glass and heat exchangers. Foots Cray Place tops its eco rating with sun pipes in windowless utility rooms and an 18,000 litre rainwater recycling system that is used for watering the garden and for flushing toilets.
Care has been taken during the restoration to retain original floors and features wherever possible including the central space which is criss-crossed with original timber beams. In the kitchen, one of the counter tops is made from reclaimed wood salvaged from when the building was in disrepair and original posts from the stable stalls are retained.
Beyond the main building, the estate’s original walled kitchen garden has been restored and now is filled with vegetables, a 40 ft greenhouse, and a potting shed. At the far end of the garden, Lord Waring’s smoking room, which was built in 1910, has been converted into a two bedroom self contained cottage.
"This project has been a real labour of love," says Barry Morgan. "I think what we have created is sympathetic to the building’s heritage and brings Lord Waring’s estate back to life by creating a modern day mansion.”
Foots Cray Place is for sale at a guide price of £3.5 million. For more information visit www.savills.co.uk
Author: Sara Claridge. Posted on May 01, 2008
