Heritage & conservation
Listed & historicbuildings in Cambridge.
Listed and historic buildings call for a deep understanding of their significance, character and setting – and the design skill to respond with confidence. As RIBA Chartered architects, we work across Cambridge, Cambridgeshire and beyond.
- RIBAChartered practice
- 100%Planning approval record to date
- 12+ yearsExperience, for each director
- Two directorsInvolved from first ideas to completion
Our approach
Protected status is rarely a barrier to change.
Every intervention is considered against the wider historic fabric to create a harmonious, coherent whole. We begin by understanding what makes a building significant – its history, character and setting – and use that understanding to unlock confident, design-led change rather than to limit it.
We pay close attention to
- Understanding significance, character and setting
- Heritage statements and listed building consent
- Confident, design-led change in protected contexts
- Considered integration with historic fabric
- Extensive experience across Cambridge conservation areas
- Dialogue with conservation officers and Historic England
Listed buildings
Care for buildings of rare significance.
At The Oak Barn in Oxfordshire, a Grade II listed barn badly damaged by fire, a new hand-crafted green oak frame reinstates the building’s structure and agricultural character, while a discreetly insulated, airtight envelope brings modern comfort to the historic structure.
At Campton Manor, a Grade II* listed manor built around 1590, we are restoring fire-damaged areas and conserving the surviving historic fabric, working in close collaboration with the local planning authority and conservation officer.
At The Old Church in Swaffham Bulbeck, a former church within a conservation area becomes a single home, preserving the generosity of the original nave and its tall windows.
Heritage projects
Selected heritage work.
Conservation areas
Extensive experience across Cambridge’s conservation areas.
Much of Cambridge sits within conservation areas, and much of our work takes place in them – from Victorian terraces to riverside homes close to listed buildings, in the city and its surrounding villages.
At Grafton Street, a wraparound and first-floor extension gained planning permission within Cambridge’s Kite Conservation Area. At Riverside House, in a sensitive riverside setting near listed buildings, we secured consent following an earlier refusal.
“The architect put forth a compelling design that successfully marries planning imperatives with the aesthetic and spatial ambitions of the applicant… the final design would likely make a positive contribution to Cambridge’s built environment.”
Planning & consent
A clear route through consent.
Proposals are shaped in close dialogue with conservation officers and, where required, Historic England, supported by clear, design-led submissions – reflected in our 100% planning approval record to date.
- Design & Access Statements
- Heritage Statements (where required)
- Planning Statements and supporting material
How we work
Understanding first, from first idea to completion.
Early clarity allows decisions to be made with confidence, reducing complexity later in the process and keeping the design direction consistent from concept to completion.
- 01
Listen & explore
Each project begins with understanding the brief in depth – not only what is required, but how your home needs to function day to day and evolve over time.
- 02
Design & plan
A careful reading of the building or site shapes the design, which we guide through planning with structured, clear, design-led submissions.
- 03
Detail & coordinate
Detailed technical design, construction drawings and building regulations packages, coordinated with structural and specialist consultants.
- 04
Support & deliver
Tender documentation, contractor support and site-stage support carry the design intent through to completion.
Where we work
We work primarily across Cambridge, South Cambridgeshire and surrounding villages, with selected projects across the wider region.
- Cambridge
- South Cambridgeshire
- Grantchester
- Trumpington
- Great Shelford
- Little Shelford
- Stapleford
- Harston
- Sawston
- Fulbourn
- Bottisham
- Swaffham Bulbeck
- Waterbeach
- Cottenham
- Histon
- Impington
- Girton
- Coton
- Barton
- Comberton
- Bourn
- Orwell
- Gamlingay
- Ely
- Saffron Walden