A three-year labour of love by its owner, Blowinghouse Mill sits in a quiet valley in Cornwall. Simon Williams bought the building and the 2.3 acres that surround it in 2015 with the intention of salvaging this end of the 19th century corn mill and creating a luxury eco-friendly home
Once a corn mill believed to have been built around 1790, it seems fitting that this once water-driven building should be reimagined as a model of 21st century environmental living where water still plays a central part.
The house now features a ground source heat pump, the very latest in insulation solutions as well as the triple glazing and low energy lights you would expect from a new build. Perhaps most fitting is the newly created wildlife pond – that has proved a Mecca for kingfishers – that also operates as the heat source for the heating and hot water system within the main house. A solar thermal heating system provides the hot water for the detached ancillary accommodation.
Now home to Simon Williams and his family, this striking building merges the new with the old. The new exterior and interiors are designed to complement rather than copy the original part of the building – the design by CAD Architects is a masterclass in blending old and new to create something all of its own, something Mark Dawes from the firm calls the “new old house.”
Simon bought the property in 2015 with a vision to strip away the crumbling more modern buildings that surrounded this industrial building and add carefully considered extensions. He rented a house for three years while the work was carried out, finally moving in last year.
He appointed the architects to renovate, partly demolish and extend the mill to create a luxurious five bedroom family home, including a separate two bedroom ancillary accommodation with four-car garage.
There have been corn mills in Cornwall since the 13th century. Blowinghouse Mill was built during the last ‘golden age’ for corn mills. Early in the 20th century the arrival of small, economical machines meant that farmers could mill their own corn.
The original stone walls have been reinforced and sit alongside (mostly concrete) blocks clad in Canadian Western Red Cedar shingle. An array of patio windows, floor to ceiling and picture windows and triple aspect windows bring the outside in.
“The interiors are relatively minimalist and have been purposely kept that way to allow the stunning original features to shine,” explains Simon. “The exterior was designed to be subtle, blending into the surrounding landscape of the valley.”
We don’t often celebrate hallways, passing through them on the way to a room more interesting, but here, coming through the front door (over a restored bridge above a leat and past a restored water wheel) there are plenty of reasons to stop and stare. The 16.4 ft high room leads to a huge (near you will never finish it,” he advises.
His favourite element in the entire 18-month process was recreating the lost waterwheel. The original part of the mill was constructed as a waterwheel-powered corn mill for the surrounding farmland and was in this use until the 1960s. The metal centre of the original wheel was discovered derelict in parts in the grounds and has been painstakingly resurrected and reimagined as the ultimate water feature. A hidden pumping system now delivers water to turn the wheel at the flick of a switch.
Simon, who has an engineering background, comments: “It took a couple of months to create the wheel, and it was hand built. We found old parts of it in the grounds of the house. These were digitally scanned and the pieces laser cut to recreate the wheel.”
So what has Simon learned from his self- build? “Take the time to evaluate your plot of land. Try not to make changes during the construction phase – which means spending time wisely with your architect during the design phase so that you understand every detail. Fully understand your budget and costs. Make use of space. Plan for the future – how will your needs change as time goes on in your home. Above all embrace the detail, it will set your home apart.”
invisible) picture window that fills the wall and overlooks the garden. An exposed stone wall signals the original part of the building. Looking up here is endlessly rewarding – the renovations have managed to incorporate the grand proportions of the large corn mill and its stone building.
The flooring provides some clues as to the old and new parts of the house, as well as the lighting. In the older parts of the building, look down and you see heated charcoal limestone flooring. The newer areas give way to white heated porcelain flooring. Spotlights dominate the new areas, while exposed industrial lighting illuminates the older parts of the house. Interior walls vary between exposed stone, perfect plasterwork, oak cladding and exposed blockwork.
A chunky oak floating staircase sets the tone for the locally sourced air dried oak used to such good effect throughout the house – you can find it on floors, other floating staircases and even walls and ceilings. Here the industrial ceiling lights can be activated, complete with exposed galvanised conduit and trunking. “The industrial lighting came from an oil tanker hold. I wanted an industrial feel as this was once a working building, but not too much,” says Simon.
Pausing to look at the small sitting room- come-spare bedroom with its own shower room, and the clever interior window that grabs light from the hallway, you then continue onwards to a suite of three double bedrooms – two of which are home to Simon’s children. All of these bedrooms boast patio doors opening out to the enclosed terrace. There’s also a games room which doubles up as a media room for the high tech features which the house has, including a Sonos and Bowers & Wilkins multi-room sound system.
On the opposite wing a wood burner entices you into the kitchen/diner where triple aspect picture windows overlook the drive, lawn, and pond, with a sliding patio door and door opening to the patio and courtyard garden. A grey hand painted wooden kitchen sits sleekly against one wall, housing a recessed white composite stone worktop and twin white ceramic sink with a ‘Quooker’ instant boiling water tap (you can play hide and seek with the cabinets to find the dishwasher and fridge freezer).
A giant kitchen island topped in oiled Zebrano wood – whose clean lines are only marred by a near invisible induction hob – does the talking. Choose between the island and the bespoke steel and oak dining table and matching bench for eating.
Head up the floating oak staircase and you’ll find yourself in Simon’s favourite space. The master bedroom suite (no other word will do) is framed by an old knotted oak wood door frame – the wood was saved from a local estate where it had languished unwanted from trees destroyed during the 1987 storm that hit southern England.
Stepping through this opening, you then take in the 16 ft high vaulted ceiling which is bookended by sliding glazed doors opening to the private roof terrace and a galleried bathroom featuring a deep double ended freestanding copper period-style bath by Hurlingham – complete with a halo of small floor spotlights – and matching his and hers copper sinks by the same maker. This is truly a bathroom worth photographing – despite its function as the most utilitarian of spaces.
Tucked underneath the gallery is a private loo and a dressing area featuring highly polished Art Deco wardrobes and dressing table – even the loo has a wrought metal Great Western Railway toilet roll holder.
The house is dotted with upcycled and reclaimed architectural elements and interiors accessories. The ‘reclamation royalty’ continues in the first floor living room which sits opposite the master suite and features a glorious herringbone laid parquet floor. “It came from a post-war Cornish bungalow built in the 1940s,” comments Simon.
The living room also features a 14 ft high vaulted ceiling, triple aspect windows which you come to expect on such a property, and a Juliet balcony onto a recessed oak floored balcony. The floor is matched with period lacquered steel style radiators and there is a contemporary woodburning stove set on a slate hearth.
Environmental credentials were important to Simon. The house is triple glazed, and was “insulated carefully” for best results, and the waste water treatment plant discharges drinking quality water back into the water course.
In terms of the challenges, Simon says, “There’s a tipping point – a point in time when you get three-quarters into the project and it still looks like a building site. You have all this money invested in it and it is nowhere near finished. And then suddenly it is finished and it’s your home.”
Simon continues: “You have got to have an obsessive personality for a self-build: you have to live and breathe it and go to sleep thinking about it and wake up thinking about all the little things you need to do. You also need to plan a long time ahead.
“You do have to compromise. I sometimes obsess over things and then I realise it’s not always necessary.”
Simon rented a house for three years while the work was being carried out. “Never move into a house before it’s completely finished or you will never finish it,” he advises.
His favourite element in the entire 18-month process was recreating the lost waterwheel. The original part of the mill was constructed as a waterwheel-powered corn mill for the surrounding farmland and was in this use until the 1960s. The metal centre of the original wheel was discovered derelict in parts in the grounds and has been painstakingly resurrected and reimagined as the ultimate water feature. A hidden pumping system now delivers water to turn the wheel at the flick of a switch.
Simon, who has an engineering background, comments: “It took a couple of months to create the wheel, and it was hand built. We found old parts of it in the grounds of the house. These were digitally scanned and the pieces laser cut to recreate the wheel.”
So what has Simon learned from his self- build? “Take the time to evaluate your plot of land. Try not to make changes during the construction phase – which means spending time wisely with your architect during the design phase so that you understand every detail. Fully understand your budget and costs. Make use of space. Plan for the future – how will your needs change as time goes on in your home. Above all embrace the detail, it will set your home apart.”
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THE ARCHITECT’S VIEW |
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“A mill building had to be substantial in size,” explains Mark Dawes from CAD Architects on the house’s heritage. “It needed to house all the milling machinery, which was powered by a water wheel, as well as space to store grain and flour. This meant that we had an excellent framework to work with, giving us huge scope to modernise while retaining enough of the original structure to give a clear impression of how it must have looked in its heyday. “One of the great benefits of combining old with new is that it gave us a broad range of materials to work with for the interior, from traditional stone, slate and wood to modern elements such as steel, glass, and even exposed concrete blocks. These could be used in different combinations to give each room its own individual personality. “Perhaps more than any other project we have worked on over recent years, when I show people photos of Blowinghouse Mill, it elicits a response of: ‘Oh my God, I want to live there!’ It seems to appeal equally strongly to lovers of old houses and lovers of modern home design.” |