Richard Gadsby
photographed ‘Fairground A raction’
Richard is a freelance interiors and lifestyle photographer for magazines and commercial clients.
‘I never miss a chance to visit Hive beach and cafe in Burton Bradstock, west Dorset. This shoreline has dramatic sandstone cliffs with views to Golden Cap and Lyme Regis in one direction, and Portland Bill lighthouse in the other. There’s fantastic local seafood at the cafe too.’
Despite its intriguing exterior, featuring Gothic windows and decorative brickwork, the seemingly diminutive size of Laurie and Solomon Parker’s home gives li!le clue as to what lies beyond the front door, and "rst-time visitors are in for a surprise.
Following extensive renovation work, the couple have transformed the derelict Victorian Turkish baths into a magical playground for children and adults alike. The vast open-plan space, under which the original swimming pool still sits, is bedecked with vintage fairground signs, arcade games and even a full-size bowling alley. Although it sounds like the ultimate party pad, it is in fact a surprisingly practical, if unusual, family home, with room enough for Laurie and Solomon and their son Eli, as well as Louis (15) and Miles (12), Solomon’s sons from a previous marriage.
The couple were renting in southeast London when they found the house completely by chance
‘We walked in and both knew we needed to live here, which is weird because it didn’t look like a house at all,’ says Laurie of their rst visit
following a trip to Camber Sands. ‘ We ended up following the road along the coast to Hastings,’ recalls Laurie. ‘And we got out, saw all the antiques shops and thought it was a marvellous place.’
The day trip prompted ‘Zoopla addict’ Solomon to start looking for property in the area, which is how he came across their future home. Built in the mid 1800s, the Grade II-listed building had started life as a Turkish bath house before becoming a swimming pool for a local school. Next came a brief spell as a church, a !er which it was used as a glass factory. By the time Laurie and Solomon found it online, it had been lying empty for a decade. It turned out the vendor had secured planning permission to convert the building into a family home, but had run out of money.
‘ We walked in and both knew we needed to live here, which is weird because it didn’t look like a house at all,’ says Laurie of their "rst visit.
‘ The roof had fallen in and trees were starting to grow through the walls!’
It was clear that not only was it going to take a huge amount of vision to turn the building into a home, but sizeable
funds as well. The couple secured a developer’s mortgage and bought the house in 2013. As the existing building plans weren’t suitable, Solomon and Laurie embarked on a torturous three-year process to get new planning permission, during which they o!en found themselves caught between the planning and conservation departments. ‘ We were reconditioning a building for a new purpose so there were lots of things that we had to do as per the planning regulations,’ explains Laurie. ‘ But they’d always con "ict with what the conservation department wanted.’ Managing a developer’s mortgage was a further frustration as the funds are only released in stages.
Fortunately, music agent Solomon and counsellor Laurie were able to remain in their rented home in
London while the work was being done. ‘ That was a privilege and a luxury,’ says Laurie, ‘ but it was the only thing that kept us from going insane.’ The transformation was extensive and included converting the roof space into a master bedroom; creating an open-plan kitchen/ living area; a mezzanine; two bedrooms and two bathrooms. All this whilst leaving the original Victorian swimming pool intact – hidden under the "oorboards of the main living space, it now provides useful storage.
The couple share the same taste in interiors, says Laurie, and both are drawn to eclectic vintage pieces. In order to keep budgets under control, they established a rule that they would only buy things that they both loved. The best intentions, however, o!en go awry and they ended up with enough to # ll a storage container. ‘ In the end we didn’t remember what was in there!’ says Laurie. ‘ But somehow it all came together and worked.’ The sign that runs alongside the bowling alley #$ed perfectly, even though it came in #ve pieces and they had no idea where it would go. The resulting house is a delightful mix of fairground nostalgia – inspired by Solomon’s carnivalworking ancestors – mid- century style and industrial chic.