Elwell House, Bristol

Elwell House occupies a superb position overlooking Chew Valley Lake. The house was designed by Henry Crisp in 1873 and has very distinctive wide overhanging eaves with ornamental brackets and a stencilled soffit. The family room was in the rear wing at the north end of the house and, as it was gloomy, it was underused. At first floor level above the family room there were two small bedrooms.

A small extension on the east side of the north wing and the removal of the internal walls allowed the creation of a large family room. A set of fully glazed doors allows the room to be flooded with light and leads out to a new landscaped terrace. This room is now the most used in the house. At first floor level the extension added space for two generous bedrooms, one facing east and one facing west, with two en-suite shower rooms between the bedrooms.

The two-storey extension has been constructed with Dundry rubble stone, very carefully selected to match the existing walls. The quoins at the corners, lintels and dressings to the windows are in smooth matching stone. The pitched roof of clay plain tiles and the wide overhanging of the eaves with the ornamental brackets also exactly matches the original house.

We were very pleased and proud when the extension was the winner of the Best Two-Storey Extension of the North Somerset Building Control Building Excellence awards.