Vernacular Homes See Their Linton Park Estate Barn Conversions Go On Sale

House designers and builders Vernacular Homes has been watching with keen interest, the sale of The Linton Park Estate in Maidstone.

It’s thought to be Kent’s largest country house – and with a price tag of £32m for the whole site including a main house, coach house, 16 other properties, gardens, parkland, lake, pool, tennis court, art gallery and cricket pitch – 440 acres (178ha), in total, it might well be one of the country’s largest property sales.

The site has undergone huge renovation over the last 40 years and Woodchurch-based Vernacular Homes was honoured to be a part of project, restoring, renovating and bringing back to life, five disused barns – all in varying states of disrepair.

Plans were already in place for conversion, but the estate management wanted to work with a barn conversion specialist, finding and inviting Vernacular Homes to share their design ideas.

The conversions were carried out to make the most of original features and save as much of them as possible.

Director Trevor Weeks, said:

“It was such a pleasure to be invited to work on the Linton Park Estate conversions. Having worked on five with them, we really had developed a deep understanding of what they wanted to achieve.

“The main thing was preservation – retaining as many original features as possible to take the history forward and into a new lease of life to be enjoyed for many years to come.”

The barn conversions feature in the Strutt & Parker sales brochure as Lot 2

The five conversions were:

Lime Tree Barn & Ash Tree Barn
A large barn converted into two new homes.
Lime Tree Barn is a 5-bedroom property with private garden and courtyard, while Ash Tree Barn is a 3-bedroom home with private garden.
See the conversion of Lime Tree Barn & Ash Tree Barn

What Linton Park Estate said:
“The end result is two beautiful homes; I especially like the high staircase in Lime Tree Barn which splits into two, creating two ‘wings’. The idea to recess the walls and create a courtyard was also great; it means that both barns are flooded with light from either side, despite the fact they are surrounded by trees.”

The Old Barn
A large T-shaped brick and timber Victoria barn originally used for cart horses and more recently, for occasional storage. It’s now a 3-bedroom home with exposed timber inside to preserve some of the history.
See the conversion of The Old Barn

What Linton Park Estate said:
“The Vernacular Homes team is so good at preserving and enhancing what’s already there. They know how to bring something old into the modern world without spoiling its character.”

Home Farm
Formerly a model farm, it’s now a 6-bedroom property with high ceilings, and huge windows giving amazing views across the parkland.
See the conversion of Home Farm

What Linton Park Estate said:
“We particularly love the galleried staircase that looks over the main living and kitchen areas.”

The Potting Sheds
Three storage buildings converted into a 2-bedroom detached home which makes the most of the views over the estate.
See the conversion of The Potting Sheds

What Linton Park Estate said:
“Vernacular Homes has created another beautiful property.”

The Tractor Shed
A single storey staff home.
See the conversion of The Tractor Shed

What Linton Park Estate said:
“The end result is a lovely, spacious, two-bedroom home with a large open space living, kitchen and dining area. The original roof has been retained and is vaulted – a lovely feature.”

Vernacular Homes works across the South East, specialising in Barn Conversions, new builds, large-scale renovations and extensions.