Building a Leading Heritage Consultancy for Cornwall and the South West
The next chapter of CAD Heritage.
This September, we are celebrating the one year anniversary of Rowett Architecture’s merger to expand our team to ten, further broadening our expertise as conservation architects and heritage consultants.
We felt this a good moment to reflect on our journey as one of the South West’s leading heritage architecture consultancies.
Our CAD Heritage Journey
The growth of our CAD Heritage brand has been spearheaded by Sam Mayou, who joined CAD Architects in 2004 and was soon drawn to projects involving listed and period buildings. Under the guidance of Directors Roger Hocking and Chris Hendra, both highly regarded senior architects in the field, Sam began to build his expertise as a conservation architecture and historic buildings specialist.
Providing pragmatic heritage-led advice to his colleagues in CAD, and to a growing number of independent clients, Sam quickly established a reputation for his insightful, practical and creative approach to heritage consultancy, removing barriers and solving problems to ensure new life could be breathed into old buildings.
This success, and the collection of a Postgraduate Diploma in Architectural Conservation, led to Sam launching CAD Heritage as a specialist heritage consultancy division of CAD Architects in 2013, led by Sam as the principal heritage consultant. Craig Coade joined Sam in 2015 to help deliver an integrated architecture and heritage consultancy service.
By the time Sam was promoted to a Director of CAD Architects in 2017, we had established an enviable portfolio of conservation architecture clients, with showcase projects including the Chain Locker and Stratton House in Falmouth, as well as Chapel Point House in Portmellon.
As demand continued to grow, our team expanded, with Jo Gray-Read, Jonny Pascoe, Hattie Harris, James Marmont & Anita Roguski helping us to successfully deliver a unique mix of heritage-sensitive projects for a wide array of commercial and domestic clients.
In a decade of growth, we had expanded our client base beyond Cornwall, to include sites in Devon, Somerset and Dorset, venturing as far as Holyhead in Anglesey, North Wales.
As well as geographical spread, we have built experience of managing heritage sensitivities across multiple sectors and project types, from large scale regeneration in Conservation Areas, to the conversion of historic farm buildings and adaption of civic buildings. The team has amassed a large portfolio of hospitality projects, in which they have helped restaurant, pub and hotel owners balance the historic charm of their heritage sites and historic buildings with practical solutions to operational and maintenance matters to support continuing use.
Rowett Architecture join our CAD Heritage Team
The integration of Rowett Architecture in September 2025 brought further expertise and award-winning insight to strengthen our conservation-led design approach. The Rowett Architecture team included Senior Architect Samantha Hamilton, Bronnen Rowett & Georgia Smith.
CAD supported Samantha’s accreditation as a RIBA Conservation Architect during 2026, underpinning her successful leadership of Rowett Architecture’s statement conservation projects. These projects which included the Grade II listed conversion of Lametton Mill, which featured on Grand Designs, and the award winning residential project to a Grade II listed property located at Polkirt Hill, Mevagissey.
Our Future
Our commercial portfolio continues to expand, with recent projects taking us all across the South West, stretching from the Grade II* listed Royal Castle in Dartmouth to the Fisherman’s Arms, in the heart of Newlyn’s Conservation Area, and over to the Grade II listed Bishop and Wolf public house on the Isles of Scilly. You can find further details of these and other non-commercial projects here.
As our specialist heritage division has grown, we have not lost touch with our core values – Conservation is the process of managing change. Our profound respect for the historic built environment and passion for heritage-led design allows us to sensitively adapt and safeguard historic buildings of all ages and styles.
However, what really sets us apart is our personal approach, always taking the time and care to get to know our clients and fully understand their objectives, helping them shape the future of their unique heritage asset.
As an expanded team we are excited to continue our mission to provide heritage expertise which really make a difference to Cornwall and the South West. To find out more about us visit our team page here.
If you are an owner, or prospective owner, of a listed or period building and would like our assistance with repair, restoration or adaption works, or the navigation of planning or building regulations processes, we are ready to assist with a wide range of consultancy and architecture services.
You can also book a free no-obligation consultation by phone, or an online meeting, at our contact page and we can discuss your project further.
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