The Mill

The Mill is a traditional brick-built building with oak beams, formerly in commercial use, that a management company has asked us to convert into eight separate office units. The works are being carried out in phases, and phase one concentrates on the roof — refurbishing and repairing it so the building is sound and weather-tight, ready for the internal fit-out that follows.

Because of the age and character of the building, the conservation officer and ecologists have been closely involved throughout. We re-bedded the verges, hips and ridges, and repaired and re-roofed the pitches and elevations where it was needed. Lead bat entrances were formed within the roof line, so the protected bats using the building could continue to come and go as the work progressed.

It is a good example of the commercial work we take on selectively — a project where traditional building skills and a conservation-led approach matter just as much as the programme and the budget, and which we carry out with the same care as our residential work.