Dial Corner – An owner’s perspective
Robert Ashton, a non-fiction author, Quaker and his wife Belinda, a jeweller, both lifelong residents of East Anglia, obtained planning consent late in 2022 to build Dial Corner, near Wymondham in Norfolk, which will potentially be the UK’s most energy efficient dwelling.
The eco-drive has always been part of Robert’s mantra, and he was seeking a property that would slot into the local environment.
As it was a simple horse paddock, a small-holding of sorts, it did not have anything sexy or becoming about it, an uninspiring plot that didn’t really scream ‘futurist eco home’.
‘Getting planning consent was something of an adventure,’ Robert told us, ‘but when it finally went to committee we had unanimous support, and two of the committee came over to shake my hand,’ he added. 20 years earlier Robert had visited a similar earth sheltered dwelling that had been built by Dr Jerry Harrall, an eco-architect, activist and long-standing advocate for earth-sheltered dwellings. ‘We wanted to downsize, and we wanted that same sense of calm I’d experience in Dr Harrall’s home,’ Robert explained.
As Robert says after he met Jerry, he visited one of his first projects at Longssutton in Lincolnshire. Here he proposed Jerry build something for him.
Consideration for the environment has always been part of Robert’s mantra, and Dial Corner will blend into its setting, being earth sheltered, with an array of south facing windows to admit the sun’s warmth. In fact it will be so energy efficient that it will need no heating, even in the depths of winter.
Sadly, the need to move back to Suffolk to care for ageing parents meant that Robert and Belinda could no longer build and live in Dial Corner, which creates an opportunity for another eco-enthusiast to enjoy off grid living, just a 20 minute drive from the centre of Norwich.
Dial Corner – An Architect’s perspective
Dr Jerry Harrall, is a leading proponent and designer of post-hydrocarbon ready buildings, buildings that operate free of fossil fuels, with off-grid capability. His architectural legacy includes the UK’s largest collection of earth-sheltered buildings and peer reviewed publications providing a forensic analysis of some of this country’s most energy efficient buildings. Dr Harrall’s expertise applied at Westminster as the Senior Advisor to the Policy Liaison Group for Future Homes.
Dial Corner represents the state of his art in terms of energy efficiency, extolling the virtues of high thermal mass in reducing heating to zero while providing a healthy living environment. Robert, having known Jerry for a long time, engaged him to design a home that would epitomise his eco-dreams.
“Robert was one of several thousand visitors to my earth-sheltered home at the beginning of the new millennium. His passion for pursuing a similar lifestyle with a light touch on the planet, fermented for the following two decades. Such was Robert’s commitment, when he made contact again in 2020, I was inspired to help deliver his dream.”
Once built, Dial Corner will provide a benchmark for homes operating in a future society where fossil fuels will no longer be the primary fuel for energy, transport and heating.
This concept is years ahead of its time, despite earth-sheltered dwellings having been around since the Vikings, it’s a still a concept that most will have never heard of. For generations to come, Dial Corner will be a beacon of hope for the future scope of UK housing and the green agenda.
