In 1782, the north and south aisles of St Mary Magdalene at Yarwell were removed. A church that had expanded during the Middle Ages was deliberately made smaller — a decision to contract the building to match a reduced congregation rather than maintain space the village no longer needed. Until 1892, the remaining roof was thatched. What interests me as an architect is the pragmatism: the builders who removed the aisles understood that a building which is too large for its purpose will not be maintained, and a building that is not maintained will not survive. The church, Grade II* listed, dates from the thirteenth century, its walls of limestone rubble with freestone dressings. The west tower was rebuilt in the seventeenth century. The village sits on the River Nene near Wansford, on the edge of what was once Rockingham Forest.
Award-winning Architects in Yarwell
Right-sized Design
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 a building should be exactly the right size for what it needs to do. 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 on the Nene
Extension Design in Yarwell should respond to the limestone character and proportions of the village's buildings and the landscape of the Nene valley and the former Rockingham Forest. The relationship between the houses, the river and the surrounding countryside creates a settlement with a distinctive setting. 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 — neither too much nor too little for the life it will contain.
Sustainable Design connects every project we take on, and in Yarwell the reduced church is a reminder that sustainability means matching a building to its purpose — not building more than is needed, and not maintaining more than can be used. PassivHaus Design sets our benchmark for new construction, delivering certified comfort with minimal energy demand. New Build Design in Yarwell should respect the limestone 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 the same pragmatism that has kept Yarwell's church standing for over seven centuries.
Renovations in Yarwell engage with a building stock shaped by the village's position on the Nene and the edge of the former royal forest. The church's own history — expanded in the Middle Ages, contracted in the eighteenth century, re-roofed in the nineteenth — demonstrates that each generation makes practical decisions about what a building should be. 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.
EnerPHit, the Passivhaus Institute's certified retrofit standard, addresses the thermal performance of older homes without compromising their character. The cottages in Yarwell 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 limestone facades continue to weather as they always have.
Yarwell's church was made smaller to ensure it would survive. If you are considering a project here, we would welcome the conversation.