Serving Windermere, the Lake District and surrounding areas
Grasmere lies nine miles north of Windermere, beyond Ambleside on the road to Keswick – a small village of stone buildings in one of the most visited valleys in the Lakes.
Grasmere is the village of Dove Cottage and Wordsworth’s grave, of the gingerbread shop and the lake below Helm Crag. Its buildings are almost all local stone under slate, many of them old, small and listed, and the village sits in a landscape that the National Park Authority and the World Heritage designation both protect carefully.
That makes Grasmere a place for careful work rather than big gestures. The most successful projects here are modest in scale, built in matching stone and slate, and detailed with the same care as the cottages around them: lime mortar on old walls, timber windows, slate sills, nothing that shouts.
The village also knows what the weather can do. Storm Desmond in 2015 washed away the A591 at Dunmail Raise just north of the village, cutting the main road for months. Water management – roofs, gutters, drainage, ground levels – is part of every project we plan here.
Historic rubble walls need lime, not cement, so moisture can still escape.
Work affecting a listed building’s character needs listed building consent plus planning.
Tight plots and narrow access are normal. We size deliveries and plan storage carefully.
Work is planned between bookings in short programmes, leaving cottages clean and ready.
Single and two-storey extensions in stone, slate and glass, built to sit naturally against a Lakeland house.
Low-energy extensions with high insulation, airtightness and glazing placed for the light, not the heat loss.
Insulated garden offices, studios and rooms for guests, clad in cedar or larch and built on a proper base.
New homes, replacement dwellings, garages and outbuildings, from groundworks to the finished building.
Measured surveys, plans, elevations and 3D drawings, and the planning application that goes with them.
Timber jetties, landing stages and lakeshore decking, built for water levels that rise and fall.
Steel-framed buildings, workshops, hospitality and holiday-let work for Lake District businesses.
Careful barn conversions, character homes, holiday lets and studios for Lake District landowners.
Practical agricultural buildings, livestock sheds, stables and storage for Lake District farmers.
Extensions, bedrooms, restaurants, spa facilities and refurbishments for Lake District hoteliers.
It needs care. The village is inside the National Park and the World Heritage Site, and many buildings are listed. Modest, well-detailed proposals in local materials have the best chance – pre-application advice is worth using.
Yes. Lime mortars and renders let old solid walls breathe, which is why we use them on historic stonework.
About nine miles from our base in Windermere.
Yes, with listed building consent in place before work starts. We use traditional materials – lime, local stone, slate and timber – and prepare the drawings and heritage information the application needs.
Talk to Lakes Construction and arrange a free quotation.