This typical Shropshire farmhouse posed an interesting design and construction problem. The front facade had been destabilised by the earthquake that hit the region in 1990, and required to be completely rebuilt.

At the same time, the owner wished to alter the facade to provide a Georgian fenestration, and this was achieved using historical formulae for size and proportion.

The facade was taken down by hand, and the stones laid out in numbered courses in the adjacent farmyard. The facade was then rebuilt off new foundations, with surviving stones placed in their original locations.

The soft, local olive coloured sandstone is no longer quarried, and a matching Derbyshire stone was used for necessary replacement. Facing masonry was dressed to match the diagonal chiselling of the existing, whilst quoins, cills and lintols were left in a fine rubbed finish.

The house now requires only the passage of a few years for the new work to fade and blend in with the old.