We moved to Hale in 1996 as a family with our two young boys with a project in mind.
We took on a courtyard of 19th Century redundant stone barns with farmhouse and an ancient Orchard in a field with the aim of breathing fresh life into them and set about a project of restoring the barns, building a pottery studio for Jon to work and teach in and creating a wildlife haven in the 3.6 acres of surrounding land.
With the help and advice of the Cornish Buildings Group and the Cornwall Sustainable Buildings Trust we engaged an architect who shared our aims to regenerate the barns in the most sustainable and eco friendly way and got our planning permission to develop the three barns and pottery workshop in 1997.
Using traditional and locally sourced materials, like Delabole slate and De Lank Granite mixed with a contemporary design approach we have created four stunning holiday cottages which are individual, energy efficient, stylish and comfortable.
When we arrived one of our first jobs was to create an entrance drive and plant over 700 trees with the help and advice of the Heritage Coast Service and Forestry Commission. We planted over 40 native species including, oak, beech, ash, rowan, cherry, walnut, maple, chestnut, viburnum, white poplar, whitebeam, hazel, yew, wild pear, alder and Scots pine. These trees are now mature and provide excellent cover for wildlife. The bird life has increased dramatically here and birds nest in our bird boxes which are installed in several locations around the place.
The Granary was the first of the barns to be converted in 1997. This was the old grain store and the old grind stone from the roundhouse and the hooks on the beams for hauling up the grain bags are still in evidence.
The next phase was the conversion of Pottery Cottage, which Jon had been using as his pottery, the Carriagehouse and the construction of the Green oak barn pottery studio in 2005. This was an exciting time with many local craftspeople working on site to help us landscape the grounds, rebuild stone walls, hand cut the oak frame for the pottery studio and crane it into place. In 2006 we won a Sustainable Business award for the project. In 2008 we gained planning permission for our fourth barn that now completes the courtyard – Orchard Barn. As the old barn, which it replaces, was too dilapidated to restore, Orchard Barn is a newly built architect designed, eco friendly building constructed with energy efficiency in mind from the outset. With air source heat pump, underfloor heating and heat recovery unit and high levels of insulation this is our most energy efficient and luxurious cottage at Hale with no expense spared on the quality of materials and interior fittings and furnishings. Completed in the summer of 2012 this luxury contemporary barn has delighted all of our guests who have stayed in it.
We continue to develop the gardens and grounds and have discovered that Agapanthus really love it here and this has become our new website logo. We think our next phase will be more of the horticultural kind and we aim to achieve Biodiversity Benchmark for a Living Landscape through the Wildlife Trust and to focus on developing the woodland, wildlife habitat, stream and ancient apple Orchard as part of this project.
