Caring for Life, Leeds

Client:

Caring for Life

Location:

Crag House Farm, Cookeridge

Description:

The Granary

In 2012, Martin Contracts completed the Mechanical and Electrical Design and Installation of a derelict 16th century grade-II listed stone barn in Cookridge, West Yorkshire.

The Granary’s new entrance, formed from steel and glass, welcomes the approach to a double height oak-framed restaurant and farm shop. The chatter of family and friends softly echoes under arching beams, each meticulously restored using traditional timber repair methods. During the day, the frame is accentuated by light streaming through high-level roof lights, drawing the eye upwards through the depths of oak and sky beyond. Modern interventions reiterate a sustainable approach with the use of sheep’s wool insulation, under-floor heating and wood-wool boarding.  Internally, the barn has been divided with curved glass walls and coloured glass-panels to create an open kitchen visible to guests, exhibiting the skills of one of Yorkshire’s premier restaurants.

Owned by the Christian Charity, Caring for Life which seeks to support disadvantaged and vulnerable people in Leeds. The farm is used to host its 17 therapeutic daytime projects. This constitutes a very small part of what the Charity does. Caring for Life is able to offer residential homes as well as support in the community. Its farm stretches 125 acres made up of mostly agricultural land for its Longhorn cattle, Lleyn sheep, horses and poultry. Crag House Farm has been Caring for Life’s home for 30 years and is very much the public face of the Charity especially since 2008 when the original Granary Café was opened.

The Granary Restaurant, Farm Shop, Café and Garden Nurseries are run as a very special social enterprise. Your custom plays a vital role in providing much needed income to help our Pastoral Support Workers provide love, care and in many cases life-long practical and emotional support. Your custom does make a difference.