BARN CONVERSION
With a little help from their trusted architect, Kerry and Andrew Scott converted their Grade II-listed barn in Oxfordshire while being locked down overseas
For many people, taking on a conversion of a Grade II-listed barn is difficult enough, but for Kerry and Andrew Scott their challenge was intensified by being locked down in 2020, thousands of miles away overseas.
A great relationship with their architect, Ben Mailen, as well as a team of dedicated craftsmen helped Kerry and Andrew fulfil their dream to restore, conserve and convert the barn, while filling it full of 21st-century futureproofed features.
Andrew, the barn is incredible, how did you find it?
We lived in the village and used to walk past the barn three or four times a week. We always said if it ever came up for sale we would buy and convert it — even in its derelict state it was beautiful. A few years later we were finally able to put in an offer and it was turned down three times before an offer was accepted. We fell in love with the idea of buying a barn built in 1740 and bringing it back to life with a modern twist.
It had been pieced together in so many ways over the last 250 years it was an arduous task unpicking it. We had a huge 60-page report commissioned to find out the history. Originally it was a grain barn with seven bays and then 30 years later had an addition to store hops in there to make beer.
Kerry and I have done self-builds, extensions and renovations but this was by far the most complicated project. We live overseas and when Covid hit at the beginning of the project we were stuck overseas in a state of strict lockdown. So we managed this project from about 6,000 miles away. When we first took it on we discussed it with an architect we’d worked with before but as the project was in its early stages it was clear we needed someone with experience in conservation, and as a result we approached Ben Mailen.
