West Hills Gin Gang

WEST HILLS GIN GANG, ROTHBURY

Set on a 350 acre farm our the owners of West Hill Farm approached Giles Arthur Architects in 2025 with an objective to create a farm education centre by re-establishing a pre-existing historical farm building for running school visits, curriculum based courses, regenerative farming and food open days, and adult education experiences, based on the principles of sustainable education.

The site is Grade II listed and also lies in close proximity to a Grade II listed shelter shed and granary, as part of the the wider site there is a Iron Age multivallate hillfort. The former Gin Gang which is defined as a round or polygon building containing a horse engine used for powering threshing machinery, is still demarcated on site today with the original footings still visible in part.

The proposal is to re-establish the historic gin gang as a flexible open plan space on the north elevation of the existing barn and a new single storey lightweight and reversible structure adjacent to the Gin Gang to provide an accessible WC, second WC and kitchen.

The project obtained planning consent in December 2025 with works due to start on site in 2026.