Our interest in original fixtures and fittings began when we extended an early Victorian vicarage and were looking for old doors and radiators and a bath in keeping with the period of the house. And a few years ago we decided to put our money where our mouth is and build a full scale house using as many reclaimed materials as we could.

The house is built in a traditional style from the following reclaimed materials:

Stone window and door surrounds from a row of demolished Victorian cottages were cut and refaced to suit the narrower brick bed:

Scotch slates in diminishing courses with traditional lead ridges make up the roof:

All the rainwater goods have been carefully pieced together from original components with extra fittings added by our local engineering works and our local blacksmith where necessary:

All interior and exterior doors are reclaimed, not all the same period but chosen for their style:

Cast iron radiators have been used throughout the house and keep their heat even after the oil boiler has switched off. In the kitchen we have devised a system of underfloor heating pipes with cast iron grilles over as one would see in a church. And in the laundry room we have heating pipes running the length of one wall: