The Slad Valley,Stroud
Hidden behind the beautiful All Saints Church in Uplands, Stroud, this house dating from 1865 is really all about its setting. As with most of Stroud it is up a steep hill but this gives views across the Slad valley making each window into a framed picture. Access is restricted to a long alleyway so the house has been renovated very simply reusing and recycling as many of the original materials as possible both internally and externally. Original doors have been replaced with fire doors but the existing ones are re-used in areas where fire rating is not required. Paving slabs have been matched with ones found on free cycle and old brickwork from demolition has been reused to make planters and landscaping. The stone excavated for the new bathroom drainage has been used in gabions to form retaining walls in the garden. This approach gives the house a somewhat Heath Robinson feel but this is counteracted by contemporary details and use of some carefully chosen new materials and colours to give a stylish modern look avoiding the county kitchen aesthetic. The remoteness from the road and the protection from the prevailing winds by the church means the house is very calm and peaceful. The garden is teeming with wildlife with the dawn chorus in early summer is spectacular and the bats flying around in the evening is mesmerizing.
Photos: Mike Pevsner
