The new house is built on a north facing slope on the edge of Tisbury. The single track road makes a definite edge to the town. Development around is heterogenous and scattered, but beyond is an uninterrupted view the downs of Cranborne Chase. There is a fall of nearly 5m across the site, falling from the road down to the meadows which border a stream linking Fonthill lake to the Nadder river. The original house was covered in climbing plants and surrounded by a dense screen of trees. Although the new building occupies the same position, the terrain has been reworked to take advantage of the exceptional aspect.
The new house replaces a single storey house and carries echos of the old in its form and orientation. Excavation made an additional floor possible under the roof, while keeping to the same height as the neighbours. The site terraces down from the road to the main garden and living level. There are two bedrooms at the garden level, and upstairs a bedroom, as studio and a large top lit book landing.
The ground floor is paved with brick through every room and extends into the garden. The house is largely open plan but separates into different areas which interlink or can be closed off. The plan is divided in two by a brick hearth and inglenook, under a brick jack arch, of the same brick as used for facing the building.
Along the length of the east elevation is a gallery, loosely divided into garden room, entrance and stair, passing under the hearth canopy and into the main living space. It is mirrored by a pergola on the east wall, of galvanised steel supported on tree trunks from the Fonthill Estate woods. Vigorous vines have been planted to grow up and eventually smother it. Another echo of the earlier house.
The main space contains living, dining and kitchen areas. It addresses itself to three very different outside spaces:
- the panorama of the distant slope beyond the stream.
- The new garden which is densely planted with drought resistant plants, providing a presence throughout the year.
- To a sheltered paved area which catches the afternoon light.
Views are framed by windows in deep reveals.
On two sides the land drops away sharply. A curved retaining wall forms a table of ground on which the house and garden sit. The table address the view as if on a promontory. The sitting out areas around the house merge into paths, steps and ramps. Locally quarried drystone walls and terracing provide protection and enclosure.