AN historic village meeting room dating back to the 17th century is being converted into a modern two bedroom home as part of White Horse Housing Association’s commitment to providing homes in rural areas.
The Meeting Room in Coles Gardens, Kilmersdon, which was once a cart barn belonging to nearby Orange Farm, for years hosted village groups and the parish council. But when the village hall was developed in 1992 it began to fall out of use.
The building came to White Horse as part of a transfer of 96 homes in and around the village from the Kilmersdon Estate in 2015. “After Covid the hall was hardly used so we decided it could be converted into a beautiful home,” said Chief Executive Steve Warren.
PKA Architects in Potterne, near Devizes, came up with a design that made the most of the light-filled top floor’s beamed roof and views across the churchyard of neighbouring St Peter and St Paul’s Church. It will be an open plan kitchen, diner and lounge while the two bedrooms, bathroom and utility room will be on the ground floor.
“It’s going to be a lovely home and garden in a beautiful part of the village,” said Maintenance Manager Darrel Smith.
Site manager George Grist expects the conversion to be completed in June. “It’s a really nice project to work on,” he said. “It’s a nice building and it has been quite straightforward.
“Insulating the top floor has been tricky and we had to dig out the drainage to redo it but that wasn’t too bad. We’re fitting the kitchen, bathroom and utility room and plastering upstairs, then we are starting the garden so we are progressing well.”
Mr Warran added: “The home will be fantastic when it is finished and I’m looking forward to seeing someone with a local connection move in.
“This is exactly what we set out to do, build homes that people want to live in, in the places where they want to be.”
