The Church of St Mary the Virgin at Gayton contains six wooden misericords dating from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. A misericord is a carved bracket on the underside of a hinged choir seat — a piece of craftsmanship designed to be hidden, seen only when the seat is tipped up. Some of Gayton's have been modified at a later date, one generation of carvers reworking the surfaces of another. What interests me as an architect is the principle: the care given to what is unseen matters as much as the care given to what is visible. That conviction defines how we approach every project. The church, Grade II* listed, has a Norman tower base and font, with the body of the building dating from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The village sits near Towcester, close to the line of Watling Street.
Award-winning Architects in Gayton
Detail That Rewards Attention
The Deerings, a certified Passivhaus home in Hertfordshire, won the RIBA East Award in 2018 — a project where the details that matter most are the ones you do not see: the airtightness layer, the thermal bridge-free junctions, the ventilation strategy. I founded Gresford Architects in London in 2006, and we now work from Oxford with clients across the country. I am an ARB-registered and RIBA Chartered architect, a member of SPAB — the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings — the Passivhaus Trust and The Green Register. I was a finalist for Sustainability Architect of the Year at the Building Design Awards in 2018, and in 2025 I was invited to judge the British Homes Awards. Our projects have been published in Dezeen, Grand Designs Magazine and The Modern House Journal.
Architectural Services Near Towcester
Renovations in Gayton engage with a building stock shaped by the village's long history near Watling Street. The church's Norman font and tower base establish the earliest phase of construction, and the fourteenth- and fifteenth-century body that grew around them reflects a community that invested in its buildings over centuries. West Northamptonshire Council handles planning for the parish. Through my membership of SPAB, I approach these buildings with the understanding that solid stone walls manage moisture through their mass and their lime mortar — and that any renovation must work with that behaviour.
Extension Design in Gayton should respond to the proportions and materials of the village's stone buildings. The relationship between the houses, the lanes and the manor house built in 1540 contributes to a settlement with a distinctive architectural character. Whether the brief is a ground-floor extension connecting the house to the garden, a garden room, or additional space above, the design should make the whole building feel more resolved.
EnerPHit, the Passivhaus Institute's certified retrofit standard, addresses the thermal performance of older homes without compromising their character. The cottages in Gayton present the familiar challenge of solid-walled construction: thick walls with no insulation, draughty junctions, and a building envelope that predates any concept of thermal efficiency. Vapour-open insulation, careful airtightness detailing, and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery can transform them — warmer, quieter, dramatically cheaper to run — while the stone facades continue to weather as they always have.
Sustainable Design connects every project we take on, and in Gayton the misericords are a reminder that the most enduring work attends to what is hidden as carefully as what is displayed. PassivHaus Design sets our benchmark for new construction, delivering certified comfort with minimal energy demand. New Build Design in Gayton should respect the stone character of the village. For sites in the countryside around the parish, Paragraph 84 of the National Planning Policy Framework provides a route to architecturally outstanding homes — but the design must demonstrate that every detail has been considered, whether it will be seen or not.
Gayton's misericords were carved with as much care as the parts of the church that everyone can see. If you are considering a project here, we would welcome the conversation.