Farmstead Barn: Returns home spark inspiration for eco-friendly holiday barn on North Yorkshire working farm
“In the latter part of 2020, following Dannie and Grace's wish to return to the family farm, we started exploring various options on how to restructure the farm business to both harvest their skills and experience in education and specialism in SEND (Special Educational Needs),” says Stuart.
Given the uncertainty and challenges the traditional family farm was facing during the agricultural transition they looked to build on the changes already being made to make the farm long-term viable for future generations.
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Hide AdThis further diversification included the potential of converting the existing traditional farm buildings, which had become largely redundant for modern agricultural practices and begun to fall into a state of disrepair, into farm holiday lets.


“We wanted to allow others the opportunity to experience the wonderful part of the world we are privileged to live and work whilst retaining the working farm element in producing high quality food along with the vast natural bio-diversity enhancement achieved over the preceding years.”
There followed many months of research into how they could retain the character and appearance of the early 18th century John Carr style architecture of the Farmstead Barn and create a high-quality property ideal for multi-generational family celebrations or groups of friends to get together.
“We were assisted by our local architect Rob Thickett of Harrogate Architectural. The multi-generational element was forefront in the design with quality and space prioritised resulting in good size bedrooms, three on the ground floor, and extensive living space,” says Stuart.
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Hide Ad“We were very fortunate to obtain the services of a local builder Jim Weatherald of Weatherald’s Construction Services who came highly recommended and specialises in this type of work.”


The existing facade was retained with all of the repair work/external stone work built using cobbles from the farm. Timber beams have been recycled and used both functionally and as features and all waste concrete/rubble from the original site has been cleaned, graded and recycled for road and drainage.
The thickness of the walls along with extensive insulation minimised the need for heating which is delivered underfloor through our single air-source heat pump, powered from our 100kWh solar panels. All heating and plumbing was installed by a local specialist plumber Marc Gillingham of Aqua Development Services North.
A mechanical ventilation with heat recovery system has been installed to provide low-energy and highly efficient ventilation. Rainwater is harvested and supplies the non-potable water in the barn.
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Hide Ad“Dried logs for the log burner come from the farm where we have an established programme of hedge and tree planting,” says Stuart.


Ruth spent many months researching the design of the interior and worked together with Grace to develop the plan.
"We wanted each room to have its own individuality whilst reflecting the farm and surrounding countryside.”
You enter the property through the boot room, a space for muddy boots and four-legged friends to dry off after a long walk.
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Hide AdThe expansive open-plan kitchen/dining area serves as the heart of the barn, featuring a large kitchen island and a breakfast bar for socialising while feasts are prepared. Move seamlessly to the spacious lounge adorned with a wood burner and a smart TV, or indulge in the ultimate games room with a pool table and an additional smart TV.


There are seven bedrooms – sleeping up to 16 people – all boasting en-suite facilities including a twin room connected via stairs to a snug mezzanine with the kingsize bed and toddler bed, making an ideal family suite. Other options include two ground-floor king-size rooms both with en-suites and one including a bath. This bedroom opens out into the tranquil rear courtyard complete with a hot tub. Upstairs, there are four more bedrooms all with en-suite bathrooms.
The finishings were completed in house using high quality products from a couple of local trade suppliers to achieve both durability and a quality finish.
“Where we could we sourced everything locally to support local businesses, the tile flooring came from a firm in Harrogate and the carpets from Searle’s carpets of Ripon,” says Stuart.
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Hide Ad“Design House in Wetherby supplied our kitchens as to our design and the bathrooms from a local plumbing supplier and building merchant. Simply Beds of Ripon provided high quality beds, duvets and pillows.”
The soft furnishings came wide variety of suppliers including Barker and Storehouse of Northallerton. The majority of the artwork was painted by Alice Lilly, Grace’s mum which reflects the farm and countryside with many of our animals depicted.
Alice acquired some 1940s Farmers Weekly magazines, pages from which have been used as a backdrop to relevant artwork.
Outside, a walled courtyard is ideal for summer BBQs, complete with built-in seating and a sunken firepit, lawn area and giant chessboard.
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Hide Ad“Not only do we wish our guests to experience the delights of families/groups of friends coming together in a high-quality setting but the opportunity to see a working mixed farm and how food production can be combined with the environment to improve both biodiversity and food security whilst addressing climate change along with the part education and the care farm can play in this,” says Stuart.
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