When the stunning 17th century Oak Farm conversion was shortlisted for the 2006 RIBA Stirling Prize Manser Medal, Maysand basked in some reflected glory.

Architect and co-founder of Urban Splash, Jonathan Falkingham, and an associate bought the site for a 5-house development after it was highlighted in the Liverpool Echo’s 'stop the rot' campaign.

Oak Farm is thought to have been a late medieval yeoman farmstead. Its original open hall had long since disappeared but a service wing, added around 1660, was still standing. Built of local red sandstone, this was to be the keystone of the award-winning design.

Maysand was asked to do a schedule of works by Jonathan’s firm, architects Shed KM. That meant surveying all the external faÁades and giving advice about the best way to proceed.

“Then we were given the contract,” says Maysand's masonry surveyor, Mick Fowles. “It was an ongoing project with 2-6 craftsmen on site at any time for about 12 months.

“Some elevations had to be chemically paint stripped, and all were cleaned with a mild chemical solution prior to being dismantled. Then the farmhouse was literally taken down, stone by stone, each one recorded and stored on a pallet.

The farmhouse was rebuilt exactly, except that Maysand formed a large opening on one elevation for a full height glass corridor to link the historic and new build parts of the house.

Maysand also built the external and internal stone faÁades of the extension around a block work backing structure. The timber structure was left in place during the dismantling and repaired and cleaned by Maysand's timber experts to become a visual feature in the upstairs rooms.

“Oak Farm was a fantastic project,” says Mick. “Not just because it won an award, but because it was really satisfying for us to use so many of our specialist trades in one project, saving an almost derelict historic building and transforming it into something beautiful again — something that the client, Maysand and all the craftsmen can be tremendously proud of.”