Bryher

Bryher, Isles of Scilly

When our clients bought Bank Cottage on Bryher, they inherited a building that had been altered and extended many times over the years. Somewhere underneath it all was a simple granite cottage, but its character had become difficult to read and the building itself was suffering badly from water ingress.

Recovering the cottage

The starting point was to strip away some of those later interventions and allow the building to breathe again.

The granite walls were carefully repaired and exposed, while the roof was raised slightly to make the upper floor properly usable. The additional accommodation was placed within a timber extension, set low into the garden.

A glazed link separates the two buildings, allowing the granite gable to remain visible while bringing light deep into the plan. Larger openings connect the living spaces with the garden and the Atlantic landscape beyond.

Building on Bryher

Designing the house was only part of the challenge. As Bryher forms part of the Duchy of Cornwall estate, the proposals required the approval of the Duchy as well as the local planning authority.

Construction on this small island in the Isles of Scilly brought another set of constraints. There is no conventional delivery route to the site, so building materials had to arrive by barge and be landed on the nearby beach before being moved to the house. Even getting to site could be difficult, with some visits made by helicopter.

All of this had to take place in an exposed Atlantic environment, where wind, salt and driving rain place particular demands on both materials and detailing. The architecture and construction strategy therefore had to respond not only to the character of the cottage, but to the practical realities of building in this remote location.

A house renewed

The result is a house that retains the character and imperfections of the granite cottage while providing the space, light and comfort of a contemporary home.

Rather than reinventing Bank Cottage, the project reveals what was already there and gives it a new life.

Photography: Richard Gaston