Woodend, Mount Stuart Trust
Key Facts
Client
Mount Stuart Trust
Location
Woodend, Isle of Bute, Argyll and Bute
Value
£1,340,000
Internal Floor Area
285m2
Completion
May 2016
A second lease of life
Project Info
The Category B listed Woodend House is used as a five-star rented property for the Mount Stuart Estate.
Also known as Kean’s Cottage, it was built in 1824 for the notable Shakespearian actor, Edmund Kean. It sits on a small estate on the north west side of Loch Fad on the Isle of Bute. Our architectural approach was to respect the original layout internally while adding ensuite facilities within ancillary spaces. The general integrity of the plan is maintained with the principal rooms preserved intact.
The thermal performance was improved by carefully insulating the floors, walls and roof in a sympathetic manner that retains the historic and listed features.
A dedicated outbuilding for a wood chip biomass boiler is located in a non-intrusive location to provide sustainable low carbon heat to the property.
Comprehensive re-roofing, lime harling, and dry rot repairs have given a new lease of life to this important category B listed villa. Internal features have been retained and enhanced throughout with minor intervention where necessary to elevate the property to five-star rentable standard.
Woodend House brings high-end luxury accommodation to the island, set in splendid isolation on the edge of Loch Fad. The attention to detail and quality of the new internal finishes compliment the grandeur of the original building.
One of a number of projects which stemmed from the Mount Stuart Trust Masterplan which was carried out by Page\Park in 2008. This study appraised the estate’s redundant building stock and created a phased vision for its future reuse.
