An old merchant house dating from the 1500s, Bogan House overlooks the town square and the site of the lively weekend market in the centre of Totnes. We were brought in by the owner and the managing trust to continue the work of restoring this extraordinary Grade 1 listed building.

We rebuilt the whole of the back section of the house, which was in a severe state of disrepair and structurally unsound. Many of the old beams were rotten, walls had to be completely rebuilt, walls pointed, new floors fitted plus miles and miles of new lathe and plaster walls and ceilings. Due to the historic significance of many aspects of the building there was much that couldn’t be removed and had to be restored in-situ. We installed a number of different new oak frames to support the building as well as the old oak beams, one of which was specifically protected. We also completely rebuilt a room on the first floor, created a new WC downstairs for use with the Norman function room and completely rebuilt a section of external wall which was carefully matched in with the existing structure.

Our work involved extensive lime plastering, including sections of intricate lime craftsmanship, as well as considerable rendering and repointing. We worked with the trust and owner to find exactly the right shade of mortar to match in with the original aesthetic of the building. We also installed a new Delabole slate floor, restored a section of traditional cobblestone and painstakingly re-crafted historically significant carpentry.

The project involved liaising with several key stakeholders including Listed Building control to make sure Bogan House was restored exactly as it should be.