Secret escape

Built on a small infill site with a rich industrial history, this contemporary self-build in the Derbyshire Dales town of Wirksworth manages to be both private and beautifully light

WORDS Alison Wall

HOMEOWNERS Lu and Ralph Selby LOCATION Wirksworth, Derbyshire PROJECT Contemporary self-build SIZE 244m2 (annexe 36m2 ) CONSTRUCTION Masonry lower ground; timber frame ground floor BUILD TIME June 2015-Aug 2016 BUILD COST £441,758 Period properties can be lovely — but they are seldom easy to heat. No wonder then, that Lu and Ralph Selby, living in a draughty four-storey gritstone mill, were keen to build a warm, energy efficient home. “The mill was very cold — and I really feel the cold,” remembers Lu. “So we asked Pippa and George [husband and wife team from Mansel Architects] who’d already worked with us on our mill house, to help us plan for our old age. It was just a wonderful opportunity to build a new house.” With no wish to move away, Lu found a plot close to their converted mill.…

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Homebuilding & Renovating (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 2022

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