Belmont is a large detached house in the village of Langley, outside Maidstone. Its origins date back over 400 years when a Dower House was built to serve the adjacent manor house. This simple structure was enlarged and altered several times until 1899, when it received radical re-facing and rebuilding whilst maintaining the Tudor core of the building. Further extensions, in the 1920's and 1970's, enlarged the house still further, including a large family room, indoor swimming pool and fitness centre. Because of the ad hoc nature of the extensions, the house's circulation didn't work well and the kitchen was too small for the scale of the building. We were engaged to carry out modifications to the internal layout to solve the circulation problems, extend the kitchen and add a new playroom/garden room, as well as design new interiors for the dining room and family room. We began with a historical survey of the building, which although unlisted contained some structural elements dating back to 1599. Having established the constructional sequence, we went on to look at the best way to answer the brief whilst altering the historic fabric as little as possible. A number of options were explored and subjected to cost / benefit analysis before settling on the optimum scheme. The design of the extension, and the replacement of windows and french doors that were out of keeping, aims to tie the newer elements in with the 1899 "Tudorbethan" main block whilst avoiding pastiche.