Newton Farm Foods Cafe Extension

Newton Farm Foods is located in the Village of Newton St Loe, approximately 5 miles West from the centre of Bath. The cafe and farm shop form part of Newton Farm, which is tenanted from the Duchy of Cornwall by the current occupants who have worked the farm for three generations.

A dairy farm until 2000, Newton Farm now focuses on producing quality meats and crops to sell in the farm shop, serve in the cafe and supply to local businesses.

Newton Farm’s rural location with views over the Whistling Copse and the surrounding countryside attracts visitors all year round. The original café accommodated only 45 covers and the business often had to turn customers away in bad weather when external seating was unavailable.

The client therefore wanted to extend the existing premises to accommodate customer demand. The proposed extension is divided into two distinct blocks; a new café seating area with an apex roof and a lower, flat roof entrance block that forms the abutment to the existing building. The South East elevation is heavily glazed in order to make the most of the views of the surrounding farmland and rolling countryside.

The oak frame was handcrafted by local company Westwind Oak. The architects worked closely with Westwind Oak and their consulting engineers in order to develop the innovative scissor truss design, combining a modern aesthetic with a traditional green oak cruck frame construction. The envelope of the new extension is formed of SIPS panels, providing a highly insulated and thermally efficient building fabric. The speed of construction permitted by this off-site fabricated technology allowed the building work to be completed through the winter months and meant that the café could be opened ready for the busy Easter period.