Nestled amongst the encircling Pennines at more than 900 feet above sea level, a quarter of a mile from The Pennine Way and only 2 miles from the Lancashire/Yorkshire border lies World From Rough Stones House at Cowling near Skipton, North Yorkshire.

This unique and beautiful stone house which was personally designed and built by Alan McEwen is the home of Dandelion Stone Trough proprietors, Alan and Christine McEwen. The building of the house took Alan six years of part-time work, using reclaimed stone, slate, flagstones and timbers sourced from numerous old cotton mills, breweries, paper mills, churches and demolition sites from all over Northern England. Every piece of stone tells a fascinating story. Alan worked on the construction of the house nights, weekends and even holidays in Pennine gales, snow and fog, and it was a labour of love.

World From Rough Stones House is part of the beautiful Pennine landscape, built from natural materials that blend in with the character of the area. On viewing the house from the surrounding hilltops, it looks like it has been there for hundreds of years and both Alan and Christine are indeed very proud.

Alan doesn’t much care for the modern world and due to his profound interest in industrial architecture has, over time, become an acknowledged expert in the design and reuse of old building materials whether they be stone, brick, timber or iron. His particular interests lies in garden and landscaping antiques such as old stone troughs, water features made from millstones, and other unique garden designs using standing stones and stone monoliths.