Phoenix from the ashes
An elegant Old Rectory in Berkshire has been impressively restored (and subtly modernised) after a fire
After 22 happy years at their elegant west-berkshire country retreat, Grade Ii-listed the Old rectory at West Woodhay, in the North Wessex Downs AONB, the approach of a significant birthday has prompted investment-fund manager rupert Bradstock and his wife, Anna, to move to Jersey ‘sooner rather than later’. As Mr Bradstock explains: ‘for my wife, who was brought up in Jersey, it means going home; for my part, I wanted to make the move when I was still young enough to get involved with the Jersey business scene.’ (See the Jersey property special on June 6 for more on moving to the island.)
the upshot is the launch onto the market of their beautifully restored, Georgian former rectory, set in 14 acres of wonderful gardens and grounds on the edge of the 2,000-acre estate of West Woodhay House (attributed to Inigo Jones), of which it was once a part, through Knight frank (020– 7861 1078) and Savills (020–7016 3718), at a guide price of £7.5 million.
In typically hands-on fashion, Mr Bradstock is now busy monitoring not only the progress of the sale, but also the construction of the family’s new Channel Island home.
the West Woodhay estate was owned by the influential Sloper family from 1714 to 1880, who presumably built the Old rectory. According to its listing, the house dates from ‘the late 18th century, with 20thcentury extensions to the left and right’— although there’s no mention of the earlier, much older hall and sitting room, which date from the 17th century. Unlike the rest of Berkshire, this south-western corner of the county, close to the Hampshire border,
is made up of glorious undulating downland criss-crossed by hidden valleys—perfect for rearing the high-flying birds for which the estate is famous.
It was The Old Rectory’s ‘incredibly private and peaceful setting’, together with its remarkably easy access to central London by road and rail, that inspired the purchase of the house in 1996. Over the next five years, when their children were still small, the new owners took their time gradually to improve the house and Mrs Bradstock created the gardens, which today provide an enchanting backdrop to the imposing main building.
In 2012, however, disaster struck: a fire caused by a random electrical fault broke out on the first floor in the middle of the night. With her husband up in London, Mrs Bradstock was alone in the house, but managed to escape through a window and alert the fire brigade, which arrived en masse within minutes. Using water from the swimming pool, it took seven fire engines to extinguish the blaze, which had fortunately travelled upwards through the roof, instead of destroying all three floors. The downside was that the sheer volume of water caused many of the ceilings to collapse and ruined the curtains, carpets and much of the furniture.
In typically positive style, the couple set about not only rebuilding the house as it was, but improving and modernising it in subtle, but significant ways, yet retaining its classic Georgian style and feel. Following a two-year restoration masterminded by Hugh Petter of Adam Architecture and interior designer the late Melissa Wyndham, by 2014, the house had been completely overhauled and future-proofed—with new roofs, a new porch and lime render to the front façade, a whole new electrical system, a new Banham security and fire-alarm system, a back-up generator and a boiler system re-sited outside the house.
‘In spite of all that, this has always been a very happy house,’ says Mr Bradstock. It clearly still is, if subsequent improvements —including the transformation of a barn into a spectacular party space enjoyed by toddlers and hyper-active grannies alike— are anything to go by. Not that the model
country house, which comes with planning consent to extend, lacks anything a countryloving family could demand—over and above the four pristine reception rooms, cheerful kitchen/breakfast room, seven bedrooms, six bathrooms, swimming pool, tennis court and separate two-bedroom cottage that it already offers.
Over in south Gloucestershire, the small Cotswold hamlet of Beach, on the slopes of Lansdown Hill to the north-east of Upton Cheyney village, five miles from Bath and 8½ miles from Bristol, nestles in a tranquil rural setting along a narrow winding lane, overlooking open fields bordered by thick hedgerows and dry-stone walls, within a part of the Cotswolds AONB that’s known locally as the Golden Valley.
Designated a conservation area in 1989, the hamlet was the scene of the Battle of Lansdown during the English Civil War and comprises mainly large traditional stone houses and farmhouses, all once part of the surrounding Beach House estate. Among the most prominent is handsome, Grade Ii-listed The Malthouse in Beach Lane, a cleverly restored Georgian family house set in almost two acres of delightful gardens and grounds with distant views of the Severn estuary, now on the market through Strutt & Parker (020– 7629 7282) at a guide price of £2.75 million.
Although, according to selling agent Andrew Cronan, the original malthouse was demolished at some point, the present house still offers some 6,000sq ft of living space on three floors, behind a classic façade of mellow stone, with large sash windows, a dressedstone parapet and a date-stone of 1783.
Since acquiring The Malthouse in 2000, the present owners have carried out a thorough and precise renovation of the entire building, creating an impressive vaulted dining room from an adjoining barn connected to the main house by a glazed link. In all, the accommodation comprises four reception rooms, a kitchen/breakfast/garden room, master and guest suites, two further bedrooms and a one-bedroom annexe.
Widely recognised as one of the most beautiful and unspoilt of all the Cotswold market towns, Chipping Campden’s high street was described by Pevsner as ‘the best piece of townscape in Gloucestershire, arguably one of the best in England’. In which case, the ‘best of the best’ is a grand terrace of four Jacobean houses located towards the end of the high street and remodelled in the Classical Georgian style in about 1826.
Local legend has it that the original 17thcentury houses were built by a rich clergyman for his four daughters, all of whom eventually married, hence the name Maidens Row—the end house of the terrace, for sale with Savills (01451 832832) at £1.25 million.
Having bought the house two years ago, former Vogue journalist and interior designer Sandy Bishop finds commuting from the Cotswolds to Europe and beyond somewhat less than relaxing. Having sympathetically restored and refurbished Maidens Row in the style of a London townhouse, she is now ready to relocate. With terraced gardens expertly laid-out by Mrs Bishop’s son, Max, Maidens Row offers three reception rooms, five bedrooms and three bathrooms, including a guest annexe, the whole painted in a refreshing palette of pastel heritage colours.