Clive & Jeanne’s House, Willingham,
Cambridgeshire
Clive and Jeanne had always wanted
to build their own home. They also
wanted to stay in the village they have
lived in for so long. With available sites
limited, they began to investigate the
possibility of building in their garden.
With the help of JOMA Architecture
they realised their garden had the
potential to provide everything they
wanted in their new home. However,
even after a prolonged period of
consultation with the local authority,
planning permission was refused.
This presented them with two options,
find another site, or challenge the local
authority’s decision. Fortunately, Clive
and Jeanne had faith in the design, and
the decision was overturned on appeal.
The resulting house is a 3 bedroom,
low energy home built using super
insulated masonry cavity walls. The
detailed design was optimised to
reduce thermal bridging and to keep
the building air tight.
The brickwork was selected to match
the local vernacular and the black
timber cladding was charred on site
(by Clive!) to reflect some of the
agricultural buildings in the area.
The entrance colonnade of douglas
fir twin-columns leads to the bespoke
front door. On entering the house
you are presented with a linear view
84
through a 4m high frameless window
into the rear garden and orchard
beyond.
This axis connects the open plan
kitchen, dining and living space with
a wood burning stove at its heart
providing Clive and Jeanne with the
impressive entertaining space they
desired. A full height storage wall has
been incorporated to de-clutter the
rest of the house. The guest rooms are
located on the ground floor of the black
box with the master suite above. This
impressive room features a sloping
ceiling and large picture window to
make the most of the views over the
orchard to the rear.