Restoration specialist requests from Ashford
Beyond its new estates, Ashford borough has a lot of historic buildings: timber-framed houses and Georgian fronts in Tenterden, hall houses and barns around Charing, Wye and Hamstreet, and Victorian streets near Ashford town centre. Send your project and we'll pass it to restoration specialists covering TN23 to TN27 and TN30.
- Tenterden has many listed buildings, and some older timber frames are hidden behind later brick or tile fronts.
- Charing and Wye sit in or near the Kent Downs National Landscape, where barns and outbuildings may need bat surveys before work.
- Rural listed farmhouses often have old lime renders and plasters that should be repaired like for like.
Hidden timber frames in Tenterden and the Weald villages
Tenterden's wide main street and the villages around it have weatherboarded houses, Georgian brick fronts and many timber-framed buildings, some of which were refronted in brick or tile in later centuries. That means a house that looks Georgian outside may have a much older frame within. Before any significant work, a specialist can survey the building to find out what's there and where water may be getting in. Common jobs include repairing weatherboarding, splicing decayed sole plates and replacing cement render with lime. Much of the area has many listed buildings and a conservation area, so speak to Ashford Borough Council before altering historic fabric, inside or out.
Charing, Wye and the Kent Downs: barns, flint and bats
Charing and Wye sit at the foot of the Kent Downs, with flint and brick cottages, timber-framed houses and old farm buildings, many of them converted. These buildings often have lime renders and plasters, and some have been patched with cement or gypsum over the years. A specialist can advise on taking these back to lime where damp is a problem. Old barns and roofs here are classic bat habitats, and bats are protected, so a survey by an ecologist may be needed before roof or timber work. Some surveys are seasonal, which can affect your timetable. Development in the Kent Downs National Landscape is closely controlled, so check with the council early.
Towns and villages covered
Postcodes: TN23, TN24, TN25, TN26, TN27, TN30