Abbots Oak Manor House - Phase One, near Whitwick

Regeneration Project of the Year Award 2017 Winner

Abbots Oak is a brick and stone house that started life as a small chapel. It was extended more than a century ago with an arts and crafts addition.

Its new owners had to work carefully to make sure the renovations met the demands of its Grade II listed status.

As the house had not seen major repair for some years almost all services such as plumbing, electricity and heating had to be restored or replaced. The property is now heated by a biomass boiler.

The project team sought to retain features such as the oak panelling. An ornately carved, oak staircase has been lovingly restored as a key feature – it was reputedly taken from a house on London’s Pall Mall where Nell Gwynn lived as a mistress to Charles II.