DH Painter & Decorator takes on commercial and community painting in Harlestone, NN7, a short run out along the A428 from Northampton, which lies 4.3 miles south-east of the village. The village has few premises, and most sit in the conservation area or are listed, so heritage-sensitive products and careful timing matter more than speed.
A short list of premises, most of them historic
Harlestone has no high street or business park. Its commercial and community buildings can be counted on two hands: the Fox and Hounds on the A428, a village shop and post office, the Northampton Golf Club clubhouse beside the lake, Harlestone Primary School, the Village Institute in Upper Harlestone, a builder’s yard, several farms, and a garden centre by Harlestone Firs across the A428. Listed status and conservation-area rules govern most of their frontages.
That shapes how a commercial job here is planned. Our main commercial painting page covers the general approach to working in occupied premises. Below we look at the buildings themselves.
| Premises | What shapes the painting |
|---|---|
| Fox and Hounds | Grade II listed, late 18th or early 19th-century lias ashlar, slate roof, 12-pane sashes; right on the A428 |
| Village Institute | Completed 1924, pale-rendered, one of the few rendered buildings in the village |
| Golf clubhouse | On the site of the demolished Harlestone House, by the lake, in former parkland much of which the 2017 boundary took in |
| Village shop and post office | Single premises in the conservation area, next to a K6 telephone kiosk |
| Primary school | Grouped with St Andrew’s Church, the Rectory and the stables between the two villages |
Painting a listed coaching inn on a main road
The Fox and Hounds dates from the time the Northampton to Dunchurch turnpike, now the A428, brought trade through Lower Harlestone. As a Grade II building, its external joinery should be repainted like-for-like, and any change of colour or finish may need Listed Building Consent. The 12-pane sashes call for careful repair and a microporous or linseed-type finish, not a heavy modern gloss. The ashlar stone itself should not be coated.
The road is the other factor. Fast, busy traffic runs close to the frontage, so ladder and scaffold placement has to be planned for safety, and the joinery collects traffic dirt and spray. It needs a proper wash before sanding and will want recoating more often than a building in a quiet lane. Inside, we take bar and dining areas in sections around service, so trade carries on.
Render, timber and breathable coatings
Because the 2017 appraisal counts breathability as the first concern for historic walls, most stone premises here have bare walls and painted joinery only. The pale-rendered Village Institute is an exception. A rendered building of that age suits a breathable masonry coating rather than a plastic-feeling acrylic, applied after cleaning off the green growth that tree cover encourages on shaded faces. Our guide to painting render and roughcast covers preparation.
Fitting the work around opening hours and term dates
Each of Harlestone’s few premises runs to a different timetable. A school is easiest to tackle in the holidays, so classroom walls can dry and air before pupils return. A golf clubhouse has its own busy days and events, so we work to the club’s calendar, and the Village Institute can be done between bookings. A single village shop cannot close for a week, so we work in zones and keep the entrance clear. We agree a schedule in writing before starting, using low-odour water-based paints indoors.
Outside, the farms and the builder’s yard bring a different kind of job: timber doors, gates and metalwork on working buildings. Many older farm buildings in the parish are built of local brick from the former Upper Harlestone brickworks, or of stone, and those walls stay uncoated. Listed farm buildings, such as the barn at Manor Farm, are treated like any other listed fabric, repainted like-for-like. More on the village is on our Harlestone area page.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
