Clementine Blakemore Architects has transformed a collection of ignored agricultural buildings in Dorset into an inclusive retreat and valuable community asset.

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Lorenzo Zandri & Emma Lewis

In West Dorset, Clementine Blakemore Architects (CBA) has turned a series of derelict farmhouse buildings into rural retreat for holiday-makers, a workshop and a centre for community activities. Wraxall Yard, as the scheme is known, began in 2021 as a not-for-profit Community Interest Company, with the refurbishment to the farm buildings being completed in July 2022, offering in turn five holiday lets on a 250-acre organic farm, which can also be booked all together as one.

The project focusses on accessibility, being a welcome break from typical accommodation for those with disabilities that can often be anodyne places to stay. To ensure the retreat was a truly accessible place, CBA worked closely alongside the Centre for Accessible Environments and held consultations so to make those with disabilities’ needs were catered for in an elegant manner. As a result, the project does not have separate ‘disabled’ routes around it and there are no ramps handrails for wheelchair users either, with the site offering gentle, sloping means of access.

Wraxall Yard exists on one level, eschewing the need for specialised stair ways or lifts. Inside, space has been made for generous turning circles and clear access to windows and doors, with attention paid to make sure the accommodation doesn’t feel institutional or clinical. Case in point: grab-handles and rise and fall worktops have been carefully integrated into bathrooms and kitchens, meanwhile each accessible bedroom offers height-adjustable and profiling beds that have been designed with Douglas fir surrounds that match additional joinery and timber furniture. Furthermore, switches, handles, hooks and hanging rails have been set at a convenient, accessible height, with door handles coloured in contrast with frames for increased visibility.

Despite inheriting them in a state of decay, the agricultural buildings on the site boast considerable character, dating back to the mid-19th Century. Refurbished stone and brick dairy barns sit nearby a Grade I* listed church, with others arranged around a courtyard and flanked by a steel Dutch barn.

Much has been done to retain the timber and stone rural charm of the buildings on site, with wooden roof trusses being kept, repaired or, where necessary, replaced — being made from UK-grown Douglas fir in a sawn finish. Moreover, the presence of truss beams internally has been amplified by exposing internal ceiling finishes (wood fibre insulation being situated above).

According to CBA, most of the external stone and masonry walls have been kept, too, being underpinned with 50 per cent GGBS concrete and repaired with salvaged or locally sourced stone, such as field flint, Portland, Purbeck, forest marble, and chalk, set in lime mortar. Walls that have retained have been insulated internally with cork that was applied directly with an adhesive lime plaster.

“A renewable material made from harvested bark, the high vapour diffusivity of cork allows moisture to move through the envelope, preventing interstitial condensation,” said the architects in a statement.

“The courtyard walls were in a particularly bad state of repair, with some recent alterations, and so these were replaced with a new timber-framed wall clad externally with recycled stone from the site. The rhythm of the original walls, punctuated with brick piers, doorways and high-level clerestories, has been retained in the new elevations. Internally the junction between the columns and truss tie-beams are exposed, expressing the modest craftsmanship of this type of agricultural building.”

“Driven by the belief that everyone should have the opportunity to engage with farming and wildlife, the brief called for an ambitious renovation of the derelict site that would provide exemplary standards of accessibility and sustainability, without compromising the unique historic and agricultural character of the existing buildings,” said Nick Read, who runs Wraxall Yard with his daughter, Katie.

Since opening, approximately 60 per cent of those visiting Wraxall Yards have been families with a disabled member. Working with local charity Green Island Trust, Wraxall Yard will use its facilities to offer of supported holidays to local people living with a disability. Meanwhile, the community space on the premises will be used as part of a programme to help young people with mental health and/or addiction issues engage with the countryside.

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