Fowlers achieved planning consent to convert this beautiful Grade II Listed disused agricultural building into a habitable space or ‘party barn’. As it sat within the grounds of an imposing Cotswold manor house, it was important to preserve its integrity and to respect the age, scale, and inherent character of the building.

Working with Cotswold based interior design firm Rogue Designs, the key to the brief was balance: to respect the age, scale, and inherent character of the building while introducing a quietly modern sensibility. The design sought to honour the barn’s organic materials, its weathered limestone walls and hand-hewn timber trusses, without overwhelming them.  The approach was one of lightness and restraint: to let the building’s history speak, and to frame its beauty through proportion, texture, and natural light.

At the centre of the project sits a dramatic self-supporting sculptural staircase, conceived as both structure and artwork. The client had envisioned a statement piece in stone, and the collaboration with master stonemason Ian Knapper was a defining aspect of the process. Crafted from French limestone, each tread was individually sculpted, spiralling upward with grace. The rusted wrought iron balustrade sweeps through the space, catching light and shadow as it leads to a mezzanine lounge and home office beyond. This staircase gives the interior a sense of movement and permanence, a sculptural gesture that anchors the open volume.

The result is a project that unites architecture, craft, and landscape. It remains unmistakably a medieval barn, yet one that now feels inhabited, human, and alive again.