An East Neuk success story

A former manse that was on the Buildings at Risk register has been treated to an astonishing renovation. Stripped back to bare walls, restored, modernised and extended with tremendous care, it now ranks as one of the finest homes in Anstruther

The tower room at Melville Manse has windows on three sides.

When it was built in 1590 its owner James Melville could look out to sea, watchful for marauding vessels.

Four centuries on, an open fire, comfy seats and shelves of fine whisky show what its current owners use the room for.

Babs and Alan Waugh bought the house, on Anstruther’s Back Dykes, in 2010 and spent three years renovating and extending it.

When they acquired it from the Church of Scotland for £402,500 it had been unoccupied for years.

“No one else wanted it and eventually they accepted our offer,” Babs explains. “When we opened it up and discovered how much needed done we were glad we didn’t pay more.”

Alan works as a property developer and used his team of tradesmen to carry out the restoration.

“He’ll take on projects no one else will even look at,” Babs continues. “I was daunted by the scale of the task but he just breaks it up into loads of small jobs.”

The main house was built in 1590 then extended in 1753 and 1864. It was A Listed and given a Saltire Award when it was restored in the 1970s, but by 2008 it was on the Buildings at Risk register.

The couple stripped it back to the bare stone, insulated, rewired and plumbed, and added a sympathetic modern extension with a triple height wall of glass. Stone and timber removed during works was used to create garden features.

Among many delights is how hard Alan and Babs (both 60) have worked to retain the house’s many unusual features – and indeed add some new ones of their own devising.

One of these is a glass floor above the stone stairs to the lowermost level. “I call this the kilt checking area,” Babs chuckles. “I stand below and make sure everything’s in order.”

Original stone walls have been restored in the kitchen and snug. A set of stairs that led nowhere have been uncovered and made a feature of.

A bespoke spiral stair made of American oak leads up from ground level to the stunning kitchen/living area, with a mezzanine “sky lounge” above. There are three second floor bedrooms, two en suite, and the ground floor has a self contained unit with living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom.

Alan and Babs are serial renovators, having carried out four East Neuk restorations prior to Melville Manse. “We’ve already been here longer than we expected but we love the house so much it’s hard to leave,” Babs says.

“We want another project in the same area. We love how this has sea views but isn’t on the water’s edge. We’ve lived on the front before and it’s like being in a goldfish bowl.”

“A spiral stair leads up to a mezzanine sky lounge