The tower of St Mary the Virgin at Titchmarsh stands a hundred and three feet high, built in the late fifteenth century by Lord Lovel, Lord Chamberlain to Richard III. Dr F.J. Allen, an authority on late medieval towers, described it as the finest parish church tower in England outside Somerset. In 1588, it was pressed into service as an Armada beacon — four watchmen appointed, two by day and two by night, to light a fire on the summit if the signal came. What interests me as an architect is the adaptability: a tower built for worship and display proving its worth in a context its builder never imagined. Good buildings outlast their original purpose. The church, Grade I listed, dates from the twelfth century and earlier, with the remains of a Norman doorway in the chancel. The village sits in the Nene valley near Thrapston.
Award-winning Architects in Titchmarsh
From Listed Barns to Certified Passivhaus
Our work ranges from a Grade II listed barn restoration in Buckinghamshire to a certified Passivhaus home in Hertfordshire — projects united by the conviction that good buildings must work beyond their immediate brief. 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. The Deerings won the RIBA East Award in 2018, the year I was also a finalist for Sustainability Architect of the Year at the Building Design Awards. 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 in the Nene Valley
Extension Design in Titchmarsh should respond to the exceptional quality of the village's setting — a settlement whose Grade I listed church and medieval castle remains set a standard that any new work must acknowledge. The relationship between the houses, the lanes and the valley landscape creates a village with a strong architectural identity. 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 Titchmarsh 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.
Renovations in Titchmarsh engage with a building stock shaped by the Lovel family's centuries of influence and the village's position in the Nene valley. The church contains fabric from the twelfth century through to the Victorian restorations, each layer legible alongside the others. North 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.
Sustainable Design connects every project we take on, and in Titchmarsh the tower is a reminder that the best buildings serve purposes their designers never anticipated — and that durability is itself a form of sustainability. PassivHaus Design sets our benchmark for new construction, delivering certified comfort with minimal energy demand. New Build Design in Titchmarsh should respect the limestone character of the village and the quality set by its Grade I listed church. 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 rise to the standard that Lord Lovel's tower established five centuries ago.
Titchmarsh's tower was built for worship and lit for war. If you are considering a project here, we would welcome the conversation.