Ancient and MODERN

A crumbling Dorset barn nestled in a beautiful garden has been transformed into a quirky open-plan home, filled with art and antiques

- JANET GLEESON

A derelict stone barn, with a coffin-sized hole in the floor, was a bit more of a project than Jane and Colin Brownrigg planned to take on. And yet something about the building's situation in the landscape felt special, says Jane. 'It was a unique place, with amazing views in every direction even so, the scale of the project was terrifying!'

The barn lies on the fringes of one of Dorset's most picturesque villages, which is built around an ancient abbey, and it transpired that the alarming hole in the floor wasn't from an exhumed corpse, but the remnants of an archaeological excavation.

A row of loose box stables adjacent to the barn, built by a previous owner, were quickly converted into temporary living accommodation so the couple could live on site during the renovations on the barn. These days, the space comes in handy when family comes to stay, says Jane. 'We also use it as holiday accommodation, so visitors can enjoy this lovely part of the country.'

The couple wanted their new home to be as environmentally friendly as possible, so they installed a ground-source heating system, as well as their own water supply. 'But there were months when I looked out over a sea of mud, portaloos, skips and builders" vans and thought, "What have we done?" Jane recalls.