ABOUT US
About James Mackintosh Architects
We help people care for historic buildings — with sensitivity, longevity and respect.
James Mackintosh Architects is a conservation-led architectural practice dedicated to the care, repair and thoughtful adaptation of historic buildings. We help people make sensitive, sustainable changes that protect character while supporting future use.
Our work is shaped by listening - to the building, to the people who care for it, and to the environment it belongs to. By taking a long view, we help ensure that historic places can continue to be lived in, loved and valued for generations.
We are an RIBA Chartered, conservation-accredited practice based in Oxfordshire, working with listed buildings, historic houses, scheduled monuments and buildings in conservation areas across the UK
Who we help.
We work with people responsible for historic and heritage buildings that matter.
Our clients include:
Owners of listed and historic houses
Trustees and custodians of heritage estates
Parish Churches
Clients caring for buildings at risk
Those navigating listed building consent and planning permission
Clients often come to us at moments of change - when a building needs repair, alteration or a clearer plan for its future. Our role is to provide clear, informed guidance grounded in conservation expertise.
How we work.
Our work begins with listening and understanding.
We take time to understand each historic building - its history, materials, construction and setting - alongside the needs of those who live in, use and care for it. Design proposals grow from this understanding, ensuring that change is appropriate, sustainable and well judged.
As conservation architects, we work collaboratively with:
Clients and building custodians
Conservation officers and planning authorities
Engineers, heritage consultants and craftspeople
This approach supports robust applications for listed building consent and planning approval, and work that can be carried out with care on site.
Where we work.
We are based in Chipping Norton and central Oxford, working primarily across:
Oxfordshire
The cotswolds
The south east and south west
The midlands
We also support projects of national heritage significance elsewhere in the UK, where specialist conservation experience is required.
Why we’re different.
A long-term approach to conservation.
We work with the understanding that historic buildings endure. Decisions made today should support their care, use and enjoyment well into the future.
Sustainability through repair and reuse.
Our approach to sustainability focuses on repair, reuse and longevity, guided by Historic England advice on whole-building retrofit and net-zero strategies for traditional buildings. We are committed to the RIBA’s strategy of significantly reducing carbon across our project’s by 60% by 2030.
Knowledge, training and continuity.
We invest in skills and professional development within the practice, supporting conservation training and alternative routes into architecture through RIBA Studio and mentoring schemes.
We also invest time in supporting conservation skills externally through raising awareness of conservation issues to organisations interested in conservation such as the SPAB and other local interest groups.
Acting responsibly.
We aim to operate with integrity and care, raising money for local and national charities through our work. This year we are sponsoring Shelter. A charity who helps millions of people struggling with bad housing and homelessness by providing advice, support, and legal services.
Recently with your support we donated £1050 to Unseen a charity that is working to eradicate modern slavery and human trafficking by providing safe houses for survivors.
Experience and accreditation.
Our work is informed by long experience with historic buildings and the regulatory frameworks that protect them.
We are a RIBA Chartered Practice
The practice has conservation-accredited leadership
Experience on nationally significant heritage projects and complex listed building consent schemes, including:
– Charlecote Park. Grade I listed.
– Stowe House. Grade I listed.
– Chiswick House. Grade I listed.A strong record of securing planning permission and listed building consent
Practice guided by Historic England guidance and established conservation standards
The team
James Mackintosh DipArch RIBA AABC CA
Director | Architect | Conservation accredited
James is a conservation-accredited architect with over 20 years’ experience in the conservation of English country houses and historic buildings. He combines technical rigour with design sensitivity, beginning every project with a deep understanding of a building’s significance and how best to serve its future.
James is listed on the AABC and RIBA registers, serves as an AABC assessor, and is a member of the Oxford Diocesan Advisory Committee. Before founding James Mackintosh Architects, he spent a decade at a leading conservation practice, working on some of the nations best loved buildings including Croome Court, Stowe House, Kelmarsh Hall and Weston Park.
Richard Baker
Architect | MSc in the conservation of historic buildings
Richard is an architect with a strong practical grounding in architecture and conservation. He began his career as an architectural technician and brings a deep interest in how good design is built, performs and feels to live with.
Richard holds an MSc in the Conservation of Historic Buildings from the University of Bath. Richard supports projects from early design and planning through to technical delivery and on-site coordination, and before joining James Mackintosh Architects in 2025, he ran his own architectural practice, bringing broad experience across both new-build and historic residential work.
Wendy Tomlinson IHBC
Heritage consultant
Wendy is a trusted Heritage Consultant with deep expertise in conservation, planning and historic research. With more than a decade’s experience in local authorities and national heritage bodies, Wendy has an excellent working knowledge of conservation legislation, policy and guidance.
Wendy studied Architectural History at Oxford and Conservation of Historic Buildings at Bath, and has been a member of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC) for over 15 years. Prior to joining James Mackintosh Architects, she served as Senior Conservation Officer for Bath & North East Somerset and Cheltenham Borough Councils, and earlier roles included Inspector of Historic Buildings and Heritage Adviser with Historic England and the Canal & River Trust
Fatemeh Azimi
Architectural assistant
Fatemeh Azimi is a Part 2 architect who brings a thoughtful, sustainability-focused approach to conservation architecture.
Fatemeh completed her studies at Oxford Brookes University in 2023 and joined James Mackintosh Architects to specialise in traditional building techniques, materials and detailing. Fatemeh supports the team with creative design tools, including artificial intelligence for exploring alterations to historic buildings, and leads the practice’s sustainability objectives, holding a Level 3 Award in Retrofit for Traditional Buildings (PAS 2035)
Isaac Mowbray
Architectural assistant
Isaac Mowbray is an emerging architect with a strong interest in historic and conservation-focused work.
He joined James Mackintosh Architects in 2022 after completing his Part 1 studies in Architecture at the University of Nottingham, and rejoined full-time in 2025 after graduating with an MArch from the same university. Isaac contributes to projects through research, thoughtful design development and clear documentation, bringing care, curiosity and an analytical approach to understanding historic buildings. He is currently progressing through his Part 3 qualification on the path to becoming a fully registered architect
Clara Bibko
Architectural assistant
Isla Mackintosh
Heritage researcher
Victoria Mackintosh
Studio manager
Victoria brings over 25 years’ experience in graphic design, visual communication and creative leadership to her role at James Mackintosh Architects.
Victorian graduated with first-class honours in Typography and spent many years working in agency and in-house design roles before joining the practice. At JMA, Victoria combines her organisational and creative strengths to support daily operations, client communications, marketing and visual material production — helping the studio work smoothly and present its work clearly and confidently.
Areas covered
Pinned below are locations of our projects where we have successfully received planning and listed building consent.