Dean paints interiors across Collingtree, the stone village and golf-course estate on Northampton's southern rim, 3 miles out from the centre in NN4. Cottage rooms on the High Street usually need breathable paints on lime plaster, while Collingtree Park houses need tall access and careful work across long open-plan walls.
Two very different interiors in one small parish
Collingtree sits at the southern tip of Northampton, around 3 miles from the town centre, and the inside of a house here depends almost entirely on which half of the parish it stands in. Along the High Street, the conservation area holds limestone and ironstone cottages, some from the 17th century, in a village layout that has barely changed since about 1800. North of them, on land once occupied by Collingtree Grange, the golf-course estate at Collingtree Park is made up of large modern houses. Painting the inside of one has little in common with painting the other, so we plan each job around the building rather than a standard room rate.
The general method, from filling to final coats, is set out on our main interior painting page. This page is about what changes when the house is in Collingtree.
Lime plaster and solid stone in the High Street cottages
The older houses are built of coursed or squared rubble, with ashlar fronts on a few, such as Holmwood at 43 High Street. Walls like these were generally finished inside with lime plaster, and solid stone needs to lose moisture through its faces. A modern vinyl emulsion forms a tighter film that can hold damp in the wall and cause blistering, flaking or a stale smell in rooms used all winter.
On walls of that kind we normally suggest a breathable finish: a mineral or clay-based emulsion, or limewash, depending on what is already there. We test the existing coating first, because decades of overpainting often leave modern layers sitting on the lime that need dealing with before anything new goes on.
- Undulating walls stay undulating. Skimming a 17th-century wall flat removes its character, and new gypsum over old lime rarely ends well.
- Hairline cracks get a flexible, lime-compatible filler rather than a hard one that shrinks back.
- Attic rooms under dormers, deep window reveals in thick stone and low doorways mean a lot of cutting in by hand, so these rooms take longer per square metre than their size suggests.
Several of the cottages are listed, including 19, 21 and 23 High Street and Rose Cottage. Listing covers the interior as well as the outside, so if a job involves removing original features or old finishes, rather than repainting like for like, check with West Northamptonshire Council first.
Height, light and long walls at Collingtree Park
The houses alongside the Johnny Miller-designed golf course are a different job. Open-plan rooms, high ceilings and tall halls are the norm, and the challenge is consistency. A long, uninterrupted wall in strong daylight shows every lap mark and any patch where the roller ran dry. We cut in and roll each wall in one go, keeping a wet edge, and use a single batch of paint per room.
Tall stairwells and landings need a proper tower or stair platform rather than a ladder propped on a step, and we bring that kit with us. Where a loft conversion or extension has been added, like the loft over a garage applied for on Chestnut Avenue, fresh plaster gets a diluted mist coat first, as explained in our new plaster guide.
Kitchens and utility rooms in these family houses take heavy use, so a scrubbable matt or eggshell usually makes more sense there than a flat matt that marks easily.
Planning the visit: parking, walls and a closed-off street
The High Street is closed at both ends, by the M1 to the south and by the golf course and old Grange land to the north, so it works as a dead-end village street. Continuous limestone garden walls run along it, with several listed houses close to the street. We agree where the van goes before the first day and carry sheets and tools in rather than leaving them by the wall.
Collingtree Park is reached from East Hunsbury via Windingbrook Lane and Rowtree Road and has only four ways in and out, so we confirm the route and parking with you before the start date. To see what goes into a quote, read our painter and decorator cost guide, or read our overview of Collingtree. Then call Dean on 07539 779 036.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
