Sussex Heritage Trust Award Winner 2025

We were pleased to learn that our restoration of the Grade II* listed 18th Century North Barn, originally built for the third Duke of Richmond at Itchenor Park Farm was awarded the Commercial Award at the Sussex Heritage Trust Awards 2025.

Employing our 'Integrated Approach' to architecture and planning, which incorporates the principles of Constructive Conservation with an evidence-based method, Douglas Briggs Partnership crafted a package of works that included Structural repairs, weatherproofing, the removal of intrusive modern elements and reinstatement of original architectural features on an evidence based approach that balanced heritage conservation with ecological sensitivity and was supported by a Historic Building Restoration Grant to sensitively restore the barn, ensuring long-term sustainability, structural integrity and historic character preservation.

The North Barn forms one of 4 brick-built structures set around a rectangular courtyard with the Richmond Arms appearing on walls of the south and west buildings and possibly designed by James Wyatt, the range of buildings mirrors a similar set on the Goodwood Estate.

In recent years, the building had greatly deteriorated due to water ingress causing degradation and rot of supporting roof timbers. Some of the structural timbers had suffered partial collapse and had been supported by steel props. The building has been altered several times to meet the requirements of agricultural use. In the 1950s, it was converted into a grain store, which required additions of modern structures to house the grain drying equipment and silos, original doors and windows were bricked in at this time. In recent years, the building had fallen redundant and into disrepair.

The project, supported by a Historic Building Restoration Grant, was to restore the roof, reinstate original architectural features, remove intrusive modern elements and make sensitive alterations to allow use of the building going forward. As a Grade II* Listed Building, the Planning Application required a Historic England Consultation Response and a bat survey revealed a day roost for six different species of bat including the rare grey long eared bat, requiring a Protected Species Licence from Natural England and creation of a large bat loft above the main doors with fly-through bat access points.

Specialist skills were coordinated by the Douglas Briggs Partnership as supervising Architects and Heritage Consultants with works undertaken in phases for both construction and conservation reasons enabling full assessment of the extent of damage with 'like for like' repairs with specialist design by a steelwork's fabricator to stabilise and repair the building structure, while ensuring roosting bats were temporarily relocated using licenced bat handlers and released to use the new bat loft on site following the works.

At the end of the project, the building has been restored to its original form ensuring sustainability and protecting its rare ecology and heritage for future generations and we are pleased to have our work recognised by the Sussex Heritage Trust Awards, reaffirming our Integrated Architecture and Town Planning approach that has proved successful in achieving solutions for our clients objectives.