A village that writes its own rules is worth paying attention to. Stratfield Mortimer — Mortimer to everyone who lives there — adopted its own Neighbourhood Development Plan back in 2017, a document that sets out in careful detail what the village wants to become and, just as importantly, what it wants to protect. That kind of intention appeals to me as an architect. It tells you that the people here care about the character of their streets, the scale of new development, the relationship between buildings and the countryside that surrounds them. The brick and part-flint facades along the older lanes, the slate and tile rooflines that the village's own design guidance favours, the way the settlement sits within its landscape rather than sprawling across it — these are not accidents. They are choices, made over generations, and any architect working in Mortimer owes it to the place to understand them before putting pen to paper.
Award-winning Architects in Mortimer
An Award-Winning Practice Working Across the Country
I founded Gresford Architects in London in 2006, and we now work with clients across the country from our studio in Oxford. We are RIBA chartered and ARB registered, members of the Passivhaus Trust and The Green Register, and accredited by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings — a combination of environmental and heritage expertise that equips us to work sensitively in villages like Mortimer, where traditional building character and modern performance standards need to work hand in hand. Our Passivhaus project The Deerings won a RIBA East Award in 2018, the same year I was a finalist for Sustainability Architect of the Year at the Building Design Awards. Our work has been featured in Dezeen, The Modern House Journal and Grand Designs Magazine, and in 2025 I was invited to judge the British Homes Awards. What these credentials mean in practice is a depth of knowledge that informs every decision — from the first sketch to the final detail.
How We Work with Homes in Mortimer
Much of the housing stock in Mortimer dates from the Victorian and Edwardian periods, with later twentieth-century development filling the gaps between the older core and the surrounding farmland. These are homes built solidly — brick walls, timber floors, generous proportions — but often with the thermal performance of their era: single-glazed windows, uninsulated walls, draughty floors that make heating bills climb every winter. EnerPHit, the Passivhaus Institute's rigorous retrofit standard, offers a way to transform these homes from the inside out. Improved airtightness, carefully positioned insulation, high-performance glazing and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery can make a Victorian house in Mortimer warmer, quieter and far more economical to run, without altering the brick and flint character that gives the street its identity. We have deep experience with this kind of work — our own project The Old Orchard in Oxfordshire is an EnerPHit retrofit that proved a period home can achieve extraordinary comfort while respecting its existing fabric.
Extension Design is often the most practical route for families in Mortimer who need more space but do not want to leave. The Neighbourhood Development Plan and the village's design guidance both emphasise that new development should respect existing scale and materials — gable roofs rather than flat, brick and tile that sit naturally beside what is already there. These are constraints we welcome, because good design has always been about working within a brief rather than ignoring it. Whether the project is a rear kitchen extension opening onto a garden, a side return that brings light into the heart of a plan, or a first-floor addition that needs to read as part of the original house, we design each one to improve how people use the space they already have. Sustainable Design is woven through every extension we deliver, ensuring that new fabric performs to the highest environmental standards — better insulation, reduced energy demand, materials chosen for longevity and low impact.
Mortimer sits within open countryside that stretches toward the Hampshire border, and the rural land surrounding the village presents its own architectural possibilities. Paragraph 84 of the National Planning Policy Framework provides a route to building a truly exceptional home in the open countryside, where the quality of design must be so high that it enhances the setting rather than merely occupying it. It is a demanding standard, and it requires an architect with the environmental credentials and design ambition to meet it. New Build Design and PassivHaus Design come together in these projects — a home designed to Passivhaus standards in the landscape around Mortimer could achieve remarkable thermal comfort, exceptional air quality and energy costs so low they reshape the economics of daily life. Planning applications in Mortimer are handled by West Berkshire Council, and for listed structures such as the Grade II listed St Mary the Virgin church or Mortimer House, any intervention requires particular care. Renovations of older buildings here demand an understanding of traditional construction — how brick and flint walls behave, how timber frames move with the seasons, how to improve a building's performance without undermining the construction methods that have kept it standing for generations.
Mortimer is a village that knows what it values — its scale, its materials, its relationship to the land around it. If you are considering an extension, a retrofit, a renovation or a new home in this part of West Berkshire, we would welcome the conversation.