New galleries and barns at Charleston Farmhouse


Lovely refurbishment and new buildings at Charleston Farmhouse.


The new build has given Charleston two new galleries, a large slightly L-shaped one and a smaller square one. Both are being used beautifully at the moment (see the next blog entries). The original plan had been for the smaller gallery to be an archive store but I gather they are so pleased with it as a gallery that they will keep it as that and raise money for a new archive store behind it. The new space is placed behind the barn and is almost invisible as you drive up to the building. It keeps the integrity of this historic site. The colours used blend really well with the barn and its construction has created a new small courtyard. Excellent new toilets too!

The refurbishment of the barn is beautiful. The best compliment I can pay is that if you knew it before it doesn’t feel different, just a bit cleaner and warmer. The wood work has been sympathetically restored using as much of the original wood as possible. The main old barn has been kept as a large flexible space which I look forward to seeing performances in. We went to a talk there on the opening weekend and I liked the imaginative use of the space across the shorter axis for a smaller group.

The smaller barn space across the top of the main bar has become a new, larger café which should help to accommodate visitor numbers. I love the addition of a circular painted table like that in the dining room of the house for larger groups and which can be booked for meetings. There were fun neon lights above it based on the ceramic lamp shades in the house.

All in all a sympathetic addition to the main house and I look forward to seeing how both buildings are used over the years.

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