Carole-Anne Cockayne and Martin Renton have transformed an old cart shed into a beautiful new home that’s tailored to their needs

WORDS JANE CRITTENDEN PHOTOS JEREMY PHILLIPS

Carole-Anne Cockayne and Martin Renton were keen to create a bespoke home, so they were initially a little unsure when they spotted a development of six dilapidated 19th century barns. The builder already had planning permission in place – but the couple visited the site anyway, with open minds as to what they might be able to achieve. “We wanted to do a project ourselves rather than buy something that already had a set design and price for the conversion,” says Carole-Anne. “When we met Chris Brewster from Three Oak Construction, however, we could see he had a real passion for restoring old buildings. As we’d enquired quite early on, he said we could have as much input into the design as we liked.”

Seal the deal

The hamlet of limestone barns had previously been in the ownership of the Lumley family (which holds the earldom of Scarborough). The buildings themselves form part of a conservation area and sit on a quiet lane that experiences little passing traffic.

Only one unit had been sold so far, which meant that the couple could have their pick of the rest. They were immediately drawn to the detached barn, which lay near to the entrance of the hamlet and faced south-west over the surrounding fields. “It had been the cart shed, so the front elevation was open,” says Carole-Anne. “Inside was a dirt floor decked out with bits of old farm machinery – but the roof was supported by beautiful king post trusses.”

The barn was priced at £325,000 – including the cost of converting it into a home to a basic fit-out standard. The couple decided this was a good opportunity with little risk to them – plus it meant they could live nearer to Carole-Anne’s children and grandchildren. They signed the contracts in October 2015 and paid a 10% deposit, with the rest due on completion – although they knew the project wouldn’t get underway for a while. “Chris wanted to build his way off the site, which meant because our barn was nearest the lane, we were last on the list,” Carole-Anne explains. “He expected to start ours in March 2016 and outlined a conversion time of six months.”