Reader Event: The sustainable country house

Join Country Life at Thyme, in the Cotswolds, for 'The sustainable country house', an event at which you'll discover the secret to creating a house that is sympathetic with its surroundings.

On Friday September 29, Country Life and Thyme are hosting an event, ‘The sustainable country house’.

Joanna Cocking of Hamptons, Architect Jonathan Dinnewell from Smallwood Architects, garden designer Charlotte Harris and interior designer Pippa Paton will join Country Life’s Executive Editor, Giles Kime, to discuss sustainability in the context of both existing and new country houses.

Each will offer their own perspective on a wide range of topics, from materials, thermal efficiency and bore holes to productive gardens, renewable energy and eradicating waste.

Thyme, in Lechlade, Gloucestershire, offers the perfect setting for the event; founded in 2007 by Caryn Hibbert, this country-house hotel demonstrates the possibilities of green engineering and sustainable practices.

Guests are invited to arrive at 10.30am for an 11am start. After the panel discussion and Q&A, there will be a buffet lunch served in Thyme’s Home Kitchen.

In the afternoon, guests will be able to explore the magnificent productive gardens at Thyme. Caryn and Jerry Hibbert will be available to answer any questions about the history of the estate.

Tickets to the event cost £60 per person, to include a buffet lunch and garden walk. Get more information and book now for the Country Life Thyme readers’ event 2023.

The expert panel

From left-to-right: Joanna Cocking, Charlotte Harris, Pippa Paton and Jonathan Dinnewell.

Joanna Cocking

Joanna Cocking has worked in real estate in London and the country for close to 33 years. She began her career in prime central London working in Notting Hill Gate, Kensington, Chelsea and Fulham. Having moved out of London, she now leads the Hamptons Private Office and Prime Country Sales team, who specialise in higher net- worth properties. She works from the London head office on Oxford Street and her home in Buckinghamshire.

Charlotte Harris

Charlotte Harris and her business partner, Hugo Bugg, run an award-winning practice known for imaginative transformations of gardens at country estates, often in areas requiring careful conservation considerations. Recent projects include London’s first rooftop forest, forming part of an urban workspace in Blackfriars; the historic walled kitchen garden at RHS Bridgewater in Salford; and the return to Nature of a farm in Devon. This year the practice won a gold medal for its design for the eighth Horatio’s Garden in Sheffield.

Pippa Paton

Pippa Paton runs a highly respected Cotswold-based practice specialising in the renovation and interior design of listed and historic homes, which wherever possible exposes and enhances their historic fabric. Current projects include the renovation and interior design for a 16,000sq ft, Grade II-listed country house, which encompasses a substantial extension and detached leisure complex. Pippa is the author of two books, Twenty First Century Cotswolds, Volumes I and II.

Jonathan Dinnewell

Jonathan Dinnewell is the managing director of Smallwood Architects, a company with a long pedigree of designing inspiring properties for demanding clients. His aim is always to enhance their lives through the use of skilful and sensitive design. One of his latest projects is a new-build country house spanning 20,000ft. He is also carrying out extensive alterations to listed properties both in London and in the countryside.

Book now for the Country Life Thyme readers’ event 2023.