42 homebuilding.co.uk
LIFEstyLE
Luckily, Richard had plenty of renovation
experience to draw on. In just three years and three
months, working as project manager, he restored the
ruins into a beautiful family home, first stabilising
the solid stone walls and then rebuilding storey by
storey, re-roofing and finally decorating.
Understanding how old buildings work was
crucial, he says — especially the need to use lime
mortars for pointing and plastering, as opposed
to cement-based mortars. This allows the castle to
‘breathe’, so that moisture can be absorbed by the
building fabric and then evaporate away naturally.
To supply lime for their own project, Richard
set up his own small manufacturing plant in the
grounds. “We set up a small slaking plant, bought a
mortar mill and put together a large batch of coarse
stuff [made from lime putty and used for plastering
and repointing] for use on the project.”
Actor Jeremy Irons, who was renovating a
medieval castle an hour west, asked if they
could supply lime for his project. That request
led to the creation of Roundtower Lime (www.
roundtowerlime.com), a family business now run by
younger son Harry (pictured on page 40).Creating a family home
Living in a restored castle may sound romantic but
Richard also wanted a warm, comfortable family
home. “One of the advantages of having a building
in such a raw state was that we could put in all the
modern conveniences,” he says.News