REAL PROJECT OAK FRAME SELF-BUILD
After a life-changing event, John and Patsy Greene used their years of experience designing and building oak frame homes to create a new abode that would cater for their long-term needs
RESIDENTS John and Patsy Greene
LOCATION Herefordshire
BUILD TIME 14 months
SIZE 270m²
CONSTRUCTION SIPs and oak frame
BUILD ROUTE Custom build via Border Oak
BUILD COST £650, 000
H aving once lived in the oldest house in the village, John and Patsy Greene now live in the newest. “The oldest house ended up being pretty much a self-build,” says John. “It was a tumbling down two-bay medieval cottage — where we discovered incredible oak frame trusses and inherited a mud floor.” Following that epic restoration effort and inspired by his love of oak framing and architecture, John then founded design and build company Border Oak in 1980 in the orchard of that cottage, training local people to create beautiful bespoke homes.
“We lived in the very first Border Oak home for 45 years, and always hoped to build another home for our later years, but circumstances accelerated the decision as I had a cardiac arrest in 2019. While I was laying in my hospital bed recovering I designed much of the house — I expect some of the quirkier bits are a result of the medication but it certainly kept me busy,” laughs John.
Their daughter, Merry Albright – who acts as creative director at Border Oak – found the plot: an old orchard beginning to decline conveniently across the road from her own home and within the same village as John and Patsy’s old house. The plot was owned by a couple who lived nearby but who didn’t need the orchard anymore.
“It’s quite hard to get planning permission here, so they asked me to give it a go because I have achieved it elsewhere in the village and self-built my house,” explains Merry. “I asked if they would mind if Mum and Dad took a look. They both loved it so we all agreed to put together a planning application with my parents in mind rather than a speculative development.”
While still in hospital recovering, John got to work designing, sending his thoughts to Border Oak’s architectural team. “The initial brief to the architect Darren was very much Arts & Crafts, alongside some other ideas Dad had been mulling over,” explains Merry. “Darren and Dad have been working together for 25 years or so, and from this they have created a design shorthand — he understands what Dad wants, and Dad trusts how talented Darren is. Planning approval was relatively straightforward and without a single objection.”
