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A self-built retirement house shaped by local stone and low energy design
In a clearing between two old oaks in West Sussex, a low stone house follows the line of a long garden wall. It’s called Eavesdrop, and it was designed as a retirement home by architect Tom Dowdall—for his own parents.
The house sits on the land they’ve lived on for more than forty years, beside their former home, a Grade II listed lodge. Over time, they’d shaped a formal garden there. This new house is simpler—easier to care for, easier to move through, but still deeply connected to its setting. It was built as a self-managed project with familiar tradespeople and a long view. Energy performance follows Passivhaus principles. The plan is fully wheelchair accessible. But the focus, from the beginning, was comfort, quiet, and space for plants to grow.
The house is shaped around an open-air courtyard, anchoring both halves of the layout. Four large sliding glass doors—one at each corner—make it possible to open the courtyard completely, allowing cross-ventilation in summer and providing a second way to move through the house. It’s not a decorative space. It’s a lived-in one, planted with specimen trees, herbs, and grasses, visible from every room.
The form and materials borrow from the agricultural buildings of the High Weald—low-slung silhouettes, generous overhangs, and construction that feels grounded and deliberate. The stone refers to the nearby Wealden sandstone, though here it’s a tougher Clipsham, with varied tooling techniques that shift texture across the surfaces. The roofline lifts toward the southwest, giving the living area a sense of openness and quiet scale.
