The Pig Hotel

We have worked on two buildings for the renowned Pig Hotels (who also own Limewood, the well-known five star hotel which we designed here).

The Pig in the Forest is a restrained Regency country house in the New Forest. Ben Pentreath designed new wings and conservatory for the main house and worked on proposals for the conversion and restoration of a number smaller outbuildings to form additional accommodation.

The Pig on the Beach, at Studland (named the Hotel of the Year 2015 by Mr & Mrs Smith) is a major project to restore and extend an eccentric seaside Summer lodge house formerly owned by the Bankes Family of Kingston Lacy, in Dorset. Now owned by the National Trust, the building had been operating as a poor quality hotel for many years and was in a dilapidated condition when taken on by Robin Hutson and the Pig Hotels group.

Working with the renowned landscape architect Kim Wilkie, we steered through a substantial planning and listed building application for the site to include a substantial new extension to the main building and a beautiful new walled garden designed by Kim. Within this garden are two new thatched ‘pepperpot’ buildings, designed in the Cottage Orne vernacular, which provide additional guest accommodation. On our advice, these and the main house were limewashed in a rich yellow ochre colour that beautifully complements the Purbeck slate roofs and stone details.

Limewood Hotel

Limewood is a 5 star country house located in the heart of the New Forest National Park. In 2004 the hotel was closed for a £30m refurbishment which was completed in 2009. It has rapidly become known as one of the leading luxury country house hotels in Britain.

We were appointed to restore and extend the existing Regency house. Much of the original house was in poor condition and required careful reconstruction. At the same time, a substantial extension was required in order to upgrade the accommodation and to provide new dining rooms and bedroom suites. We added a new wing in a modest early Georgian style with red brick and slate roof.

We have worked alongside Charles Morris who has designed a luxury spa and ancillary accommodation buildings. The project has been interior designed by David Collins and operates under the chairmanship of Robin Hutson.

Chelsea Barracks

The redevelopment of the Chelsea Barracks site is one of the most prominent projects in the capital in the last quarter century. Bringing back a dense, mixed-use, traditionally planned quarter to the heart of Chelsea, the site has been masterplanned by Squire & Partners and Dixon Jones.  In 2014 we were invited to join a limited competition to design a key landmark building at the centre of the site, immediately opposite the Garrison Chapel, now a listed building.

We developed a design for a simple, arcaded brick building which won the competition, and we worked through the slow and complex process of planning, meeting with local groups and neighbours, designing alongside the other architects in the Phase I collaboration, and then detailing the building for construction.  Built with load-bearing, traditionally detailed brickwork of significant complexity, the building has gone on to win an number of awards and has become a much-loved and commented building at the heart of the project.  The restaurant complex opens in 2023.

We worked alongside our good friend William Smalley who also designed the mews house next door.