Sarah and Rupert Smither saved an historic building and created a vibrant, friendly meeting place in the process. Chrissy Harris visits the Sail Loft
It was run down and almost forgotten about, tucked away in the back streets of Dartmouth.
But there was something about the ramshackle old rigging shop and sailmakers building in Foss Street that intrigued Sarah and Rupert Smither.
The couple, who run a local holiday let business at Barrington House, often wondered what they could do with it.
Then came a chance encounter on a regular dog walk.
‘I was walking past and just popped my head in one day. I asked the guy in there that if he ever thought about selling up, I'd be interested in buying the building,’ says Rupert, assuming he'd be told thanks very much and politely sent on his way. ‘But he said he was just about to put up a for sale notice in the window. I said, “Don’t do that just yet…” Then we had a chat.’
It was to be the beginning of the next chapter in the life of a building, thought to date back to the 1600s.
Previously a customs house, a garage for the town’s general post office and a chapel of rest, the Sail Loft is now a stylish bar, kitchen and lounge. But this is not your ordinary change-of-use. This bar conversion has been done with great sympathy and respect for the structure and detail of this historic building.
Throughout the two and a half year-long project, Sarah and Rupert were driven by a desire to save and restore as much as they could, so that locals and visitors could enjoy spending time inside these wonderfully uneven walls.
Sarah, 52, spent her childhood in Dartmouth and the couple bought Barrington House 17 years ago. They have a strong attachment to this town and everything in it.
‘This building would have been holiday lets or flats, otherwise,’ says Rupert, talking me through the renovation, which included using wood salvaged from a demolished Torquay hotel. The original metal beams here are thought to be from Plymouth’s former tramway network.
Rupert and a very capable friend did much of the hard labour towards the end of the project, which was dominated by the pandemic.
Despite the challenges, the Sail Loft opened its doors in summer 2021 and quickly became a go-to hang out. Weddings, parties and even an award ceremony have all taken place here.
The regular clientele – who range in age from 18 to 75 – say they love what’s been done to preserve and protect the building.
The bar downstairs is rustic and well stocked. Upstairs, there’s a more contemporary lounge area, which looks out over the narrow, higgledy-piggledy streets and up to the green fields above the town.
There’s an ‘informal, social dining’ menu, which includes steak and chips, plus sharing dishes, as well as pizzas in the summer.
But the idea is to keep everything simple and let the building be the star.
‘We don’t want to overcomplicate things,’ says Sarah, who spent years working in HR and still can’t quite believe she’s pulling pints behind a bar (which she’s very good at, by the way). ‘If someone had said to me a few years ago that I’d be doing this, I never would have believed them,’ she says. ‘It’s been challenging but we’ve no regrets. We attract a really lovely crowd in here already and we’ve only been open for just over a year. I think people like the fact that there’s always a familiar face behind the bar.’
Sarah and Rupert’s three children, aged 23, 20 and 15, muck in where they can and the couple are here most of the time, when they’re not running their holiday accommodation.
Their course of life might have changed slightly, but the couple are delighted with their latest venture.
‘I feel proud that we’ve been able to do this and save this building,’ says Rupert. ‘We’ve bought it at least another 100 years.’
sailloftdartmouth.co.uk
