We paint shopfronts and pub frontages in Bugbrooke, NN7, about 5.1 miles west of Northampton town centre. The village has a small cluster of premises on High Street, Levitts Road, Great Lane and Church Lane, and each repaint is planned around trading hours.
A handful of frontages, each with its own timetable
Bugbrooke’s commercial life is small and spread out. There is no parade of units, just individual premises on different streets, and each keeps different hours. That changes how a repaint is planned.
| Where | Premises | What to plan around |
|---|---|---|
| High Street | Londis, Philippa’s Farm Shop, the Bakers Arms | Long shop hours, deliveries, a listed pub building |
| Levitts Road | Pharmacy, post office, medical practice | Constant customer access, including people with limited mobility |
| Great Lane | The Village Takeaway | Painting while it is closed, depending on its hours |
| Church Lane | Five Bells pub, community cafe | Narrow historic lane, conservation area setting |
| Pattishall Road | The Wharf pub | Canal-side damp and weather exposure |
For a takeaway that opens later in the day, much of the frontage can be done while it is closed. A convenience store or pharmacy that trades all day is different: we work in sections and keep the entrance usable throughout. Our main shopfront painting page describes how we keep disruption low.
Painting a listed pub front on High Street
Of all the commercial frontages in the village, the Bakers Arms needs the most thought. Its walls are bare ironstone, protected by a Grade II listing, so nothing goes on the stone. What gets painted is the timber: entrance doors, signboards and the casements that sit beneath old stop-chamfered lintels. Those windows are prepared by hand with scrapers and fine abrasive, and the lintels take a microporous coating so the timber can dry out through the paint.
A pub door is in use from opening time, so we aim to finish the messier stages in the morning and leave nothing wet at the entrance. As for colour, we keep to the scheme already on the building unless you have listed building consent for something new. For the unlisted shopfronts in the conservation area, choosing tones that sit well beside ironstone keeps the street looking consistent.
Signage is worth thinking about at the same time. If a fascia board carries painted lettering or a fixed sign, we agree beforehand whether the sign comes down, is masked, or stays in place with the board painted around it. Hand-painted lettering is a separate specialist job, so we would leave a clean, sound background ready for it.
Pharmacy and post office access on Levitts Road
A pharmacy and post office next to a medical practice see a steady stream of people who need to get in, often with prams, sticks or wheelchairs. We do the door and entrance area at the start or end of the day, use clear wet paint signs, and keep a dry route open while the rest of the frontage is painted.
Grime from the road, damp from the canal
Any premises fronting the route used by Heygate’s flour mill lorries will have a layer of road film on its sills and fascia board. That is washed off before any preparation, or it ends up trapped in the new paint. At The Wharf on Pattishall Road, close to the Grand Union Canal, exposed timber stays damp for longer, so moisture checks and dry weather matter more there.
Shopfronts are part of our wider commercial painting work. The Bugbrooke page covers the rest of the village, which is a short drive west of our Northampton base.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
