Country house conversion to apartments

Country house conversion to apartments is the process whereby a large country houses, which was originally built to accommodate one wealthy family, is subdivided into separate apartments (i.e. flats or condos) to allow multiple residential occupancy by a number of unrelated families.

History

Large country houses were built on an estate in the 18th and 19th centuries to reflect a family's wealth and power, and to accommodate their extended family and a large number of servants required to maintain the house and family's lifestyle. However, with the diminishing income from farming, the increasing wages of staff and their movement to cities, and the invention of electricity, plumbing and domestic appliances, large houses with many staff became impractical to maintain. From about the mid 20th century many country houses, in order to avoid their demolition or use by an institution, especially those further away from larger cities (and hence not a practical weekend country retreat for the wealthy), have been converted into apartments.

Techniques

Subdivision can be vertical (i.e. a whole wing), horizontal (i.e. a whole or part of one floor), or a combination of both. Vertical conversions have the advantage of giving each apartment a range of different sized rooms, from large public reception rooms on the ground or first floor to smaller rooms on the lower-ground and upper floors for bedrooms. The disadvantage is that space is taken up by the artificial insertion of staircases for each apartment (unless service staircases already existed), and the residents are required to constantly walk up and down staircase to move throughout the home. The advantage of horizontal conversion is single level living, with the disadvantage that on the original public reception rooms level, larger rooms need to be partitioned or a mezzanine level added to maximise the space and provide smaller types of rooms. The objective of the conversion is to maximise the retention of the house's original architectural features and decorations, while minimising structural changes. In the UK, planning permission for the conversion of listed buildings will often be granted with enabling development near the house (i.e. the construction of new housing), to help fund the project. In the UK, vertical conversions can sometimes be sold with freehold title, but horizontal conversions (or a mixture) must be sold as leasehold, with apartment lessees holding shares in a company that owns the building and land's freehold.

Houses

List of country houses converted into apartments, by country, in chronological order by conversion dates. This excludes conversions into retirement homes, where the apartments are hotel-style, with communal dining and living rooms (e.g. the original Country Houses Association properties).

England

1940s

1950s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

In progress

Unknown years:

Scotland

In progress:

Wales

In progress:

Northern Ireland

Republic of Ireland

References

    External links

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