The Thatch, Attleborough, Norfolk

Shortlisted for our new Best Loved Award in the private category, over the last two years this Grade II listed Tudor farmhouse has been lovingly saved from near collapse by its owners.

Our Best Loved Award celebrates regular care and maintenance to old buildings, a key aspect of the SPAB Approach. Our shortlisted projects demonstrate the value of maintenance for buildings of all dates and types, and for the people who occupy, use and love them. Vote for your favourite. 

The house in 2022. Credit: Hannah Nairn

When Hannah and Ben Nairn bought The Thatch in February 2020, the house had stood empty and neglected for years. Its structural needs were extensive and urgent. A lack of repairs and maintenance had caused considerable damage, as well as unsympathetic changes such as the removal of structural timber posts. The sole plates and lower timbers had mostly rotted away. Large swathes of concrete render had been applied and the thatch was rotten. The electrics were lethal and the plumbing, primitive. With little experience of timber framed buildings, and faced with the additional challenges during the pandemic, the owners found specialists and then undertook a lot of the work themselves. For them, the next two years would be a steep but gratifying learning curve. 

Having watched the building being lime rendered, the owners lime plastered the interiors and also made our own lime wash and chalk paint. This has also had the advantage of keeping costs down and gave them a greater understanding of the the physical chemistry of their home.

a reinstated doorway in the barn using a privy door found on the site which once used as a cement mixing board. Credit: Hannah Nairn

The owners created two more appropriate oak window frames and new leaded lights to replace an incongruous Victorian picture window and installed a new dressed oak post to reinforce a struggling beam. Historic windows were uncovered and reinstated, allowing light into spaces shrouded in gloom for centuries.

Sadly white rot was discovered in the thatch so the replacement had to be more comprehensive than originally planned. However, the original fleaking (a layer of reeds underneath the main covering) was retained.

The garden is no longer overgrown, and the owners’ woven Hazel fencing provide a sympathetic structure and evoke a forgotten age of rural crafts.

Hannah Nairn writes: “The Thatch is becoming a window into the past. It is not set in one time period but reflects many periods of its history. A gentle, varied and interesting reminder of worlds that have gone before. Our ongoing efforts... are an attempt to preserve its history whilst giving it a sustainable future..."

Thatching in progress. Credit: Hannah Nairn

The SPAB Heritage Awards celebrate excellence in building conservation. On 3 November, the winners will receive their award from designer, writer and TV presenter Kevin McCloud at an event at Conway Hall in London. Book your place.