Rural Essex

On the Essex-Suffolk border, Joanne converted a Grade II Listed threshing barn with Lynch Architects, conserving much of the building’s original structure and character.

At the rear Jankes Barn overlooks wheat fields south and west. The design of the garden here is purposefully restrained and open to blend with the simplicity of the surrounding landscape.

Centred on the huge barn doors is a square pool that reflects the big East Anglian sky. On three sides is a meadow of perennial plants in shades of blue, white and purple forming a colourful but informal planting mass to complement the cereal crops in the adjacent fields.

To the north, the Courtyard Garden (the former farmyard) is, in contrast, an enclosed hortus conclusus. Planted with a mixture of shrubs and perennials in warm colours that echo the red brick walls, it gives year-round interest. Multi-stemmed trees provide spring blossom, shade and screening, and wall-trained apricot, greengage and apple trees late summer fruit.

In 2025, Jankes Barn received a RIBA East Award and RIBA Conservation Award.

Completed 2022
Landscape contractor: Stewart Landscape Construction Ltd
Photography: Images 2, 3, 4, 7 and 8 © Andrew Montgomery