Lucy’s House in Evington

Lucy’s House in Evington
59 Church Road
59 Church Road

LUCY’S OPEN HOUSE

Everyone enjoyed their visit to Lucy’s house, at 59 Church Road, Evington where the coffee morning and sale, held on 25th July, was to raise funds for St. Denys Church.

In about 2011, Lucy bought the 18th Century white cottage, which had been a part of the Stoughton estate. The cottage had been two little cottages that had been knocked through, but with very little else done to them. Lucy was hoping to extend the cottage to increase the size of the kitchen and put another bedroom upstairs, but the Council said that they preferred it if she built a second house in the garden rather than increase the size of the original cottage.

Tony Parr, a local architect, with a keen interest in all things ‘eco’ designed the house which allowed for the maximum of light, 2 cars in the driveway and was ‘eco friendly’ on a tight budget.

After a great deal of research into eco heating, Lucy opted for an air-source heat pump (sitting just outside the utility room door). This heats the house via the underfloor heating system downstairs with radiators upstairs (so that it can be quickly and easily turned on, up, down and off in the bedrooms). The system also heats all the hot water.   Heating bills are further reduced by the exceptionally airtight double glazing which came from Finland (but the front door was from Leicester!) To reduce water consumption, rain water is harvested in a tank under the driveway (‘grey water’) for use in the lavatories.

Lucy appointed local builder, George Wright, who took on the challenge of building a house with very few right-angles and lots of quirky spaces. With new roofing systems, super high tech insulation, George’s team rose to the challenge.

Lucy uses her front garden as a vegetable patch and despite a two-year attempt to grow her first lawn in the back garden, has recently had it re-laid with synthetic turf. It allows water to permeate and needs no cutting! Despite the busy road at the front, Lucy loves the rural feeling of the location and enjoys the bird song from Piggy’s Hollow and the bell ringing from St. Denys.

Evington Echo

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