CAMPIELLO, ISLE OF WIGHT

My client, who owns two or three boutique hotels in London and is a founder member of The Spitalfields Historic Buildings Trust, had owned a 30's holiday bungalow on this site, for many years. Like many houses on the Isle of Wight, it was gently falling into the sea. Once his insurance company had decided that it was not worth repairing, he opted to demolish it and build himself a theatrical gothicke follie instead. This would take advantage of its wonderful location overlooking the Solent. Inside a highly whimsical decorative shell, is essentially a building with an open-plan-split-level ground floor, with six bedrooms above.

When my client first saw the 1.5 m deep foundation, he thought he might as well have a proper basement (as one does) so the builder dug out twice as much spoil, so now there is a billiards table and a sail room on the floor below. We obtained planning consent in six weeks. The design incorporates many items of architectural salvage, and the exterior is rendered using a local sand in the mix which makes it seem as if it has been there much longer than it has. Charles Jarvis, a truly remarkable craftsman whose firm is based in Westbury, Wilts, built the whole thing from cellar to cupola and worked his way through three clutches in the process. And managed to retain his sanity whilst doing so.