Newmarket, Suffolk

Residential

Newmarket is the largest racehorse training centre in Britain and the largest racehorse breeding centre in the country, home to most major British horse racing institutions, and is a key global centre for horse health. Newmarket has over fifty horse training stables, two large racetracks, and one of the most extensive and prestigious horse training grounds in the world.

The town is home to over 3,500 racehorses

Bluepencil were invited to advise the Lambton family on the viability of converting their family house into apartments and also to prepare drawings for a new apartment block and/ or mews houses in the grounds, with a view to maximising the potential of the site.

The house, Mesnil Warren, has been in the same family since 1908 when the Honourable George Lambton (Grandfather of the current owner) moved here to train racehorses for Lord Derby.

In 1925 Sir Edwin Lutyens was commissioned to design a large extension to the house to provide extra bedrooms and staff accommodation. No expense was spared on this classical style extension, rich with Arts and Crafts features.

Mesnil Warren, is situated on the eastern side of Bury Road backing onto the Heath and Warren Hill Gallops. It is a substantial house dating from the latter part of the nineteenth Century and was once a racing lodge with a stable yard to one side.

The challenge for Bluepencil was to ensure that the conversion to apartments met all the regulations and fire safety requirements but with minimal intervention to the existing building and architectural features. In addition, the new build elements had to complement and enhance the existing house and its beautiful setting.