COLLECTOR’S BARN

A characterful conversion, stacked with curios

The most striking thing about Bill Broadbent’s late 18th-century Sussex barn is that it looks like a barn – a surprisingly rare phenomenon for most modern barn conversions. Bill, a property developer specialising in historic buildings and hotels, has spent his life living in ancient buildings. In fact, he was born in the famous Prospect of Whitby in Wapping, London, a centuries-old Thameside pub, and grew up surrounded by an awareness of architecture and antiques – an interest that was encouraged by his grandfather, who loved clocks and lived in a !ne old house on Kingston Hill in London.

‘I bought the barn 24 years ago as a weekend home,’ says Bill. ‘It had outline planning permission, a dodgy cement-tile roof, dirt "oors and a collapsing shed where the kitchen is now.’ Needless to say, an awful lot of work was done to give the appearance that the imposing "int, brick and oak structure had survived wholly intact. The roof was replaced, a massive concrete slab was poured

as underpinning to steady the barn, beams were repaired or replaced, and the unsalvageable timber doors were copied to form giant shu!ers for what are now large expanses of glazing where carts would have once entered.

One step into the impressive hall and it is clear the interior has been treated to the same exacting standards as the exterior. ‘I decided not to employ an architect and to sketch my own vision of how the space would work best,’ says Bill, ‘retaining as much of the grand scale of the barn as possible, while not scrimping on cosy bedrooms.’ The spaces range from co!agey to monumental with a practical, painted wood kitchen created in a tumbledown shed.

Bill took the time and trouble to obtain as many reclaimed materials as he needed to give his home a credible authenticity, such as "nding Georgian pine #oorboards from a demolition in Brighton, as well as reclaimed brewery roof tiles. He even laid 20,000 400-yearold cobbles from the lane entrance to the front door. The daunting task of "lling the house with interesting furniture and objects was surprisingly easy, as the barn is a "!ing se!ing for Bill’s mixture of unusual antiques.

Having been a collector since his early teens and a$er downsizing his London home, Bill had plenty to choose from,

spanning old museum cabinets, 19th and 20th-century model yacht and boat hulls, Georgian glasses and decanters, masses of scienti!c instruments (from telescopes to steam engine pressure gauges), primitive stick chairs, rugs, pictures, textiles, !shing rods, a stu"ed owl and even a gunpowder bucket. Bill has amassed items for over 40 years, buying at auctions and while travelling. ‘I found that pair of Soumak rugs in the Ukraine,’ he says. He also buys from dealers who know his interests and contact him when they see something he’d !nd irresistible.

It is not only the living spaces that are carefully curated; the bedrooms are equally furnished with intriguing and diverse antiques, from a giant German armoire and velvet chaise longue to old lamps, prints and carved !gures. The only trouble with having a passion for collecting is that, while there are plenty of tables, there is nowhere to eat as they are piled with Bill’s ‘toys’.

The fact that the building is unusually light is down to some very clever design. As well as both sides of the original

It is not only the living spaces that are carefully curated, the bedrooms are equally furnished with intriguing and diverse antiques.

central cart entrance being !lled with glass, the space above the small si"ing room-cum-study gallery overlooking the entrance hall was !"ed with windows too. There is a roof light, while the original wind slips that allowed the east/ west air#ow to dry hay have been glazed. The kitchen, which faces the entrance driveway, is lit by windows and glass doors along its length and the master bedroom is dual-aspect, providing wonderful countryside views.

The more you look at this special country home, the more you notice Bill’s connoisseur eye for detail. The ironwork on the plank doors is copied from an old pa"ern, the locks have leather latches, and the thick hanging ropes, intended to be used as an exercise aid, look exactly right among the old ships’ beams used in the barn’s original construction. The beautifully cra$ed wooden frame of a canoe #oating high in the hall roof space is another example of Bill’s ability to allow form and cra$smanship to be seen as art. ‘I love this house,’ says Bill. ‘It’s the perfect place for the things I like to live with.’

The OwnerWilliam (Bill) Broadbent is a property developer specialising in ancient buildings. He lives between a London flat and this 18th-century barn.The PropertyThis flint and brick barn was built in 1780. On the right of the former cart entrance Bill created two floors containing three bedrooms. On the left is the dining area, living room and kitchen, built on the site of an outbuilding.

CLOCKWISE FROM RIGHT A collector’s cabinet was painted in a distressed off-white finish and is home to some of Bill’s small curiosities and specialist books. The telescopes on top are both 18thcentury; the sitting room has a cornucopia of fascinating objects; museum display cases house a model of the Glasgow chain ferry, c1860, that Bill bought in Dunkeld, and (against the wall) an early 19th-century model of the ship belonging to Harveys Bristol Cream, once displayed in the company’s offices. On the wall is a late 18thcentury Chinese family tree painting.

ABOVE A view over the dining table into the sitting room, where the walls either side of the double doors have been adorned with a pair of 1890s Crittall windows, which Bill fitted with mirror glass. Model ship and boat hulls are arranged on the table. LEFT The double-height hall serves as a dining room. Doors made from reclaimed wood lead to guest bedrooms on the ground floor, with the master suite above. The fire ladder is 1940s.

THIS PAGE CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFTThe master suite features a campaign chest as well as ecclesiastical pieces. The picture to the left of the window depicts plans for the Liberty store in London; a 1960s Tiffany lamp adds interest to a writing table; in the bathroom, Bill plumbed a basin into a Victorian washstand and made a Delft tile splashback; the main beam hails from a 16th-century ship and was used in the construction of the barn. Bill has made a headboard using a velvet and stumpwork panel and an 18th-century French carved panel.

A guest bedroom is furnished in classic country style. The giant German schloss armoire provides valuable storage, while the modern four-poster bed came from The Conran Shop. The 1950s floral quilt is French. The opening in the stonework above the bed is one of many that Bill retained – they provided airflow for drying crops when the barn was in agricultural use. BELOW The barn entrances are now filled with glass doors and windows, while the shutters are copies of the original barn doors.