manor house monday

OK, I doubt very much that I will ever remember to post about a manor house every Monday (Farmhouse Friday,Single Storey Saturday anyone?) but Mr A was out and about last week and brought back some photos of a Border Oak house so big that he couldn't get the whole thing in one picture.  Seriously BIG.

And, although I can sometimes be a bit unsure of very BIG new houses (it's just a jealousy thing) this house has great potential because the the architectural/vernacular detail is about right. This is the kind of house that will get better and better with age - which can't be said about many of us (Richard Madeley maybe? Rob Lowe, probably).

this is only about a third of the one elevation - the section to the left is the 'service' wing if you like, the gable and double porch on the right are the 'front' of the main manor which works backwards. I think it is about 10,000 sq ft. Might be more with the attics and basements.

the blue sheeting protects the brick work from the tannin and is trimmed at the end of the build.

I like the slightly random brick infill patterns - a bit of informality on a house this size adds to the organic feel as an original manor would have been much altered, extended and remodelled over the passing centuries. So bizarre to think that not much separates the craftsmanship used to build this house and its direct Medieval counterpart.

The 'back' section of the house looks great too, with many classic 'Border Oak' elements. I think the brick work really helps break the mass of oak and the chimneys provide excellent 'punctuation'. The reason the house works is probably because proportionally it is strong. They haven't just stretched it and made it wider and taller to get the size they needed but have added incrementally and observed vernacular spans and pitches. Can't wait to see the end result.

P.S I know this is a Sunday, not a Monday, but I couldn't wait til the morning to post (well, I am out all day tomorrow)