REACHED along a narrow country lane or via the footpath between Helford village and Frenchman’s Creek in the western reaches of Cornwall, the farmstead at Kestle Barton served its quiet purpose for at least 400 years until vacated in 2004 by the last farmer, who had grown up there. Were it not for Karen Townsend, who had a house nearby, the buildings would have been left to continue crumbling picturesquely into the ground; instead, they have been gently restored, revived and brought into the 21st century.
Miss Townsend worked closely with the local authority’s conservation team, which was as keen as she was that the integrity of the place wouldn’t be ruined by unsympathetic development and actively encouraged business use: one of the barns opened in 2010 as a gallery, with more of the buildings later converted into holiday cottages. The project won a RIBA award for architect Alison Bunning’s thoughtful, low-key conversion, which retained the lime plastering, scantle slate roofs and cob walls.
Although she may have a good eye for design, Miss Townsend admits she is not knowledgeable about plants and had been havering about what to do with the walled yard outside the barn, known as a ‘mowhay’, where the hay was once stacked. She did know, however, that she wanted to avoid the Cornish cliché of semi-tropical plants. ‘That would have been really inappropriate,’ she says. Nor did she want big blowsy flowers: ‘It is a barn and the walk is directly into a meadow. You don’t want to be distracted too much.’
Her daughter Emma, at the time gardening editor of The Independent, introduced her to the designer James Alexander-Sinclair, whose then garden at Blackpitts, a converted barn in Northamptonshire, she had admired. He quickly understood what she was after and not a palm tree or mop-headed hydrangea appeared in his plans.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 08, 2022 من Country Life UK.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 08, 2022 من Country Life UK.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Every picture tells a story
As the National Gallery prepares to celebrate its 200th anniversary in May, Carla Passino delves into the fascinating history of 10 of its paintings, from artistic triumphs to ugly ducklings and a clever fake
Flying between extremes
Revisiting the Norfolk of his childhood bright, but not as early as planned on an April morning, John Lewis-Stempel is entranced by the wildlife of the Broads and spots a crane so large it renders his binoculars redundant Illustration by Michael Frith
Satan on six legs
The prowling embodiment of Beelzebub, the Devil's coach horse beetle could absolve you of all your sins, says Ian Morton
Sometimes, less is more
FASHIONS in gardening come and go like those on the catwalk, they simply take a lot longer doing so: sometimes decades.
Dropping down to Derwentwater
The gardens of High Moss, Portinscale, Cumbria The home of Peter and Christine Hughes Non Morris visits a much-loved, Historically fascinating Arts-andCrafts garden, which has been imaginatively brought back to life
A Georgian legacy
Down in Wiltshire and Somerset, two country houses and estates have been well tended by their owners
Processions, proclamations and punishment
The wayside crosses that were once beacons in the British landscape have seldom survived the forces of Nature and iconoclasm. Lucien de Guise follows a trail of destruction
A sparkling collection
Guided by the nose of wine expert Harry Eyres, the COUNTRY LIFE team tasted some of England's finest sparkling wines and found elegance and finesse, with notes of hedgerows and seaside air, to compete with any fizz from across the Channel-surely, this is what we should be drinking now Qu
Hampering after summer
Lifting the lid on a sturdy hamper to find cold ham and ginger beer is a summer joy. Julie Harding meets the wicker weavers who make the dream come true
Life's a picnic
With picnic season fast approaching, it's time to elevate your alfresco feast to Michelin-star levels of deliciousness. Here, Paul Henderson asks a selection of the finest chefs to open up their picnic baskets and share some of their top tips for culinary success