Between 1883 and 1888, the Church of St Andrew at Yardley Hastings was systematically reconstructed — south aisle and porch first, then the roof and chancel, then the north aisle. The work was directed by George Sutherland, the clerk of works at Castle Ashby, the great house whose estate has shared the same ownership as Yardley's manor since 1528. What interests me as an architect is what that arrangement tells you about how buildings were maintained. The same person who kept a major country house in repair also oversaw the rebuilding of the village church, applying the same standards of material and workmanship to both. The tower, the oldest part of the building, dates from around 1200; the nave and aisles from around 1340, probably commissioned by Laurence de Hastings after he was created Earl of Pembroke. Sutherland's reconstruction preserved the medieval plan while renewing the fabric — a phased approach that kept the church in use throughout.
Award-winning Architects in Yardley Hastings
Published Work, Conservation Standards
Our projects have been published in Dezeen, Grand Designs Magazine and The Modern House Journal — work that ranges from a Grade II listed barn restoration in Buckinghamshire to a certified Passivhaus home in Hertfordshire and shares the conviction that phased, careful intervention is better than wholesale replacement. 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.
Architectural Services Near Castle Ashby
Extension Design in Yardley Hastings should respond to the relationship between the village and the estate landscape that surrounds it. Castle Ashby's parkland defines the setting, and the village's stone character reflects the same building tradition that served the great house. An extension should show the same standards. 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 while sitting comfortably within the village fabric.
Renovations in Yardley Hastings engage with a building stock that includes both medieval survivors and the Victorian reconstruction work directed by Sutherland. The church's phased rebuilding — a five-year programme that took each element in turn — offers a model for how domestic properties should be approached: systematically, respectfully, and with the whole building in mind. The stone cottages and houses throughout the village use the local limestone. 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 Yardley Hastings the estate connection offers a reminder that buildings maintained across generations survive; buildings neglected do not. PassivHaus Design sets our benchmark for new construction, delivering certified comfort with minimal energy demand. New Build Design in Yardley Hastings should respect the stone character of the village and the parkland landscape that frames it. 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 be worthy of a landscape shaped by centuries of estate stewardship.
EnerPHit, the Passivhaus Institute's certified retrofit standard, addresses the thermal performance of older homes without compromising their character. The stone cottages in Yardley Hastings 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.
Yardley Hastings was rebuilt by the same hand that kept Castle Ashby in repair. If you are considering a project here, we would welcome the conversation.