May 27, 2026 / By rachel

Some projects start with a brief, this one started with a memory.

For Week 12 of our 40 Projects in 40 Weeks series, we are heading to Edw Cottage, a small  cottage in Aberedw, Wales, on the banks of the River Edw.

It has stone walls, a beautiful valley setting, plenty of wildlife and, allegedly, a past life as a smugglers’ hideout nestled deep in the valley.

We cannot prove the smuggling bit; we didn’t find any hidden tunnels, chests of gold, dusty treasure maps or even a dramatic trapdoor. But we’re not here to ruin a perfectly good bit of local folklore, and with its remote location and proximity to the river, it certainly fits the part.

A cottage with a childhood connection

Our client first knew Edw Cottage as a child, having holidayed there when he was young. Decades later, he saw the same cottage listed for sale online and wanted to bring it back to life for his own family to enjoy.

However, the cottage was tiny, very tired and in need of considerably more work than just a lick of paint.

As Herefordshire architects experienced in rural and historic buildings, RRA Architects was appointed to refurbish and extend the cottage, creating more space while keeping the character that made it special in the first place.

 

 

 

When Welsh Permitted Development Rights had other ideas

At the start of the project, there was hope that the initial design concepts might fall under Permitted Development Rights. Then came the small but important reminder that the site is in Wales, and Welsh Permitted Development Rights are not the same as those just over the border in England.

Rather than trimming the design to fit the PD rules and risk losing what the cottage really needed, the decision was made to go down the full planning permission route. It was the right call, giving the project room to create more usable space, improve the connection to the landscape and bring the cottage back to life properly.

Bringing a small cottage back to life

The work included removing poor later additions such as a delapidated lean-to, repairing the original structure, replacing the rotting floors and extending the footprint to create a much more usable building.

Upstairs, the scheme added an extra bedroom with expansive glazing overlooking the fabulous views. Downstairs, it created more living space and a better connection with the garden, river and surrounding landscape.

The original stonework was exposed and re-pointed using lime-based mortar, with oak timber windows, slate, stone and exposed oak beams helping to keep the cottage feeling honest, warm and rooted in its setting.

There is impressive glazing all along the riverside elevation, afterall, if you have views like that, it would be rude not to make the most of them.

 

 

 

Bats, banks and doing things properly

Edw Cottage sits in a rich natural setting, so ecology was an important part of the project from the beginning.

Surveys were carried out, bat boxes were installed around the site and part of the outbuilding was adapted to create a dedicated bat roost. The outbuilding was initially restored but kept as storage, giving the bats time and space to move into their new, bespoke accommodation.

The riverside setting also needed careful thought. Gabion walls were introduced along the most vulnerable section of riverbank to help protect the site from future flooding and erosion.

 

 

Phase two: the outbuilding gets its turn

Several years later, once the bats had settled into the roost and surrounding boxes, the client appointed RRA Architects for a second phase.

This time, the restored outbuilding was converted into additional accommodation, with a sleeping deck and space that could be used as a home office, snug or extra living area.

It was a considered approach to make the wider site more useful, without undoing the careful ecological balance from the first phase.

 

 

Rural architecture with regional roots

Edw Cottage is a good example of what we enjoy about working with older rural buildings. They need patience, imagination and respect for the things that were already there before the architect arrived with a pen and a plan.

From our offices in Hereford, Cheltenham and Shrewsbury, RRA Architects works across Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Shropshire, the Cotswolds and Bristol and Avon. As conversion architects working across the wider region, we understand the balance between character, planning, landscape, ecology and practical use.

Edw Cottage shows how a modest rural cottage can be given a new lease of life without losing the character that made it worth saving. You can see more photographs of the inside and outside of Edw Cottage on the full project page here: Edw Cottage.

As our 40 projects for 40 years series continues, we will keep sharing not just the finished buildings, but the stories, challenges and decisions behind them.