rising from the ashes
Restored after a devastating fire, this historic house in Northamptonshire is fit for the modern era
When Sarah and Charles Jarman began hunting for a house three years ago, they told their estate agent they wanted a period home with a large kitchen and a lot less land than their existing property. ‘ We had a very big garden plus outbuildings at our old house, and with four young children we found we just didn’t have the time to manage it all,’ explains Sarah.
This 16th-century house ticked all their boxes bar one: the kitchen was quite compact. ‘I fell in love with it nonetheless,’ says Sarah. ‘It’s even older than our previous home, with parts dating back to the 12th century, but because of a terrible fire that took place here, much of it is brand new.’
The elderly lady who lived here had to be rescued by firefighters when the flames took hold in 2011. Although the stone work survived, the wooden frame, fixtures and fittings were completely destroyed. The owner, who escaped unharmed, never returned to the property and it was left to her son to put it back together again. This took nearly five years and once completed, it was put on the market.
Sarah, Charles and their children, Charlie, now 20, Ella, 18, Gretel, 11, and Harry, seven, moved into what was virtually a new home, albeit inside an ancient shell. ‘It had been totally rebuilt,’ says Sarah. ‘All the beams, staircases, woodwork, kitchen and bathrooms were new and the stone walls and floors had been restored.’
All the family needed to do was add the personal touches that would transform it from a house to a home. As Sarah works as a buyer for local homes store Secret Messages Interiors, she found it easy to source furniture
and accessories. ‘My father was an architect by profession and he instilled in me a passion for making every part of a property look good,’ she says.
‘I never wanted a precious house, though; I wanted it to feel homely, but still in keeping with its period. So we kept the palette quite soft with splashes of bright colour, and then opted for classic-style beds, chairs and sofas, which I’ve dressed with cushions and throws to help each room feel cosy.’
The couple have installed a narrow table in the kitchen, which they use to prep and serve when hosting guests or feeding the younger children. As the house is Grade II listed, Charles and Sarah could not change its internal structure to expand the kitchen, but they have grown to love the room as it is. ‘ We wanted a larger kitchen, but this one serves us really well,’ says Sarah. ‘I love working in here and looking out on to the village green.’
Having lived in very old properties for the past decade, Sarah feels she’s not only looking after the house for her family, but also for all those who might own it in the future, so she has learnt to work with its limitations. ‘You have to accept that historic houses are not built to today’s specifications,’ she says. ‘Aged properties often don’t have large kitchens, but that’s the beauty of them – you have to adapt to them, rather than the house adapting to you.’
Thanks to Sarah’s careful decor choices, the whole family has made this house their own and Sarah is now busy returning the pretty cottage garden to its former glory. ‘Then the restoration process will be complete,’ she says. ‘ We’re so pleased to have helped to shepherd our home into a new era.’
INSPIRATION
‘We get design ideas from everywhere – our travels, my father, who was an architect, Secret Messages Interiors and my buying trips at trade shows’