Top marks for stunning village school conversion
IT’S easy to see why this characterful former school house scored top marks when Adele and Paul Nathan-Geary went to view it.
Built in 1860, it was skilfully converted in 1986 to create a beautiful family home with bags of character and some stunning features. TV producers were so impressed, they used it as a location for an episiode of Touch of Frost.
“It just spoke to me and I knew we had to buy it,” says Adele.
A“It looked great but it also had a fantastic feel. It was warm and really homely.”
The couple, who moved from North Leeds, bought it five years ago and have since added new bathrooms and a new, bespoke kitchen made by local craftsmen at the Main Furniture Company in nearby Green Hammerton.
“Everything was done really well initially, it just needed a bit of updating,” says Adele.
The property incorporates the old headteacher’s house at the front and the little village school at the rear. The galleried sitting room, which boasts a floor-to-ceiling arched window, was once the school hall.
“Apparently, the church was re-built in 1860 and there was some money left over so they about busy roads, but the village is also close to the A59 and the A1, so it’s good for travelling into Leeds, Newcastle and London.”
The house has a reception hall, galleried sitting room, dining room, family room, office, breakfast kitchen, utility room, pantry, boot room and a cloak room.
Upstairs, there is a master bedroom with en-suite, guest bedroom with en-suite, two further bedrooms and a house bathroom.
Outside, there is a double garage and a parking area and a studio. The gardens are mainly laid to lawn with paved terraces, pergola, herbaceous borders and mature trees. The property also has a 3.6 acres of paddock.
Adele and Paul are selling to downsize, but she says: “I will miss the house like crazy especially as the village has such a good community, but I am hoping to stay in the area.”