This gem of a historic house has been lovingly restored and filled with personality

Vintage fabrics expert Angela Wardale discovered a gem of a historic home and set about restoring it just as carefully as she repairs her antique textiles

Angela Wardale loves decorative antiques, beautiful old textiles, classic style and original features, so when she saw her elegant Grade Ii-listed Georgian manor house, set in a private walled garden, it was love at first sight.

Seeing beyond the painted yellow walls and sparse kitchen, Angela visualised the property’s true potential as a beautiful five-bedroom family home, its lovely old features intact and furnished in uncomplicated period style.

‘We were living in a townhouse in the middle of York when my late husband became ill and couldn’t climb the stairs, so in 2005 we decided to move,’ says Angela. ‘This house was just what we were looking for. It was beautifully presented. The previous owners had repaired or replaced the roof so the biggest job was already done.’

Soon after moving in, Angela had the ‘leaky, smoky’ chimneys realigned and a new bathroom fitted. What was left of the original kitchen was taken out – apart from a kitchen sink unit – and replaced with a combination of fitted and freestanding country-style furniture. An old aluminium lean-to was taken down and replaced with an oak-frame sunroom, and they also had a number of garages knocked down at the back of the house to create better access.

‘You wouldn’t believe the amount of stuff that was taken away,’ says Angela. ‘It made a huge difference to the back – really opened it up. Then we landscaped the garden by repositioning a pond and levelling it all. We even found an old well!’

Inside, the house had a wealth of original features, including tiles in the spacious entrance hall, original windows, wooden floors and stunning oak beams in the attic space.

It was the perfect backdrop for Angela’s ever evolving collection of elegant furniture and textiles, which have spilled into her home from her former shop in Malton and from her new stand at Station Mill Antiques in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire.

‘It’s not unusual for things to find their way from the stand into the house,’ says Angela. ‘Some of the antique furniture in the house was inherited, some came from shops and fairs discovered on my travels around the country. If I find something I really like I tend to buy it there and then, because I know there is rarely a second chance. You can guarantee that if you hesitate and go back later, it will have gone. I go all over the place looking for things. I’m drawn to anything that is different.’

Angela’s fascination for antiques developed in her childhood when her parents furnished their own home with beautiful old furniture.

‘It was cheaper than buying new and always came with its own history and story,’ says Angela. ‘My mother had a massive influence on me – she particularly loved beautiful quilts and textiles and that’s something that’s rubbed off on me. I love anything tactile and colourful. At school we did needlework and I was always making my own clothes, or turning damaged quilts into cushions.’

Angela’s passion for sewing developed into a business when, 30 years ago, she started selling her cushions and quilts at country fairs. Before long she was hooked.

‘It was quite scary at first. I was buying without really knowing what I was looking for, but now I can spot things from a mile away. One of her most successful purchases – and subsequent sales – was a pair of quilts she found under a dust sheet and bought for just £10.

‘They were a bit marked and clearly very old,’ she says. ‘When I got them home I discovered a date on them. They were made in 1798. I eventually took them to an antiques fair and they were a magnet for collectors. I ended up selling them for hundreds of pounds.’

Angela always has piles of fabrics around the house, most of which she can’t bear to part with. ‘I think it’s an addiction,’ she says. ‘It doesn’t have to be anything very expensive – I just love the look and textures.’ Her shop is an extension of her home, full of chairs and headboards she upholsters, antique garden furniture, mirrors, lights, chandeliers, linens, quilts and vintage fabrics.

But Angela is now planning to gather everything up and transfer the beautiful furniture and soft furnishings to another property.

‘This is a beautiful house but it’s time for me to move to somewhere smaller and closer to my family,’ says Angela. ‘I’m really sad to go. It’s been a wonderful home, but things change and I really hope I can sell the house to a family who will love it just as much as I have done.’

Previous page, above and left: Norton Manor is set in a half-acre walled garden within walking distance of town. ‘It’s set back behind the wall so very few people know that it’s here,’ says Angela, pictured below

Opposite: The spacious hall, with its original floor tiles, creates a grand entrance to the Georgian house and takes the eye to the sweeping staircase. The mahogany table was inherited and the wing-back chair was a bargain find from Newark Antiques Fair

Below: Angela likes the classic proportions of the sitting room, with its original fireplace and arched alcoves. The smaller sofa was inherited, and the other one bought from a dealer; they are covered with cushions Angela made herself. She had the footstool made using antique legs, and covered it with antique fabric. The French cane-work chairs came from Newark Antiques Fair and the mirror is one of a pair made to accommodate the decorative carving on the top

Left: The fireplace with its carved surround is listed and sets the scene for the rest of the house. With its original panelled cupboards and floor tiles, the elegant entrance hall is one of the real triumphs of this Georgian home

Above: Angela employed a man who could ‘turn his hand to anything’ to fit the kitchen units, sourced online, which she painted in Railings, by Farrow & Ball. The Aga was secondhand from a listed house in York, and the lovely old light fitting belonged to Angela’s great-grandmother Right: Angela’s crockery is displayed on shelves made specifically to match the base of the dresser Above right: Angela’s dining room furniture is a combination of family pieces, and items bought from antiques fairs and shops found on her travels around the UK. ‘The table is a Georgian oak drop-leaf table that belonged to my parents,’ says Angela. The chairs are country chairs, bought many years ago from a shop in Chipping Norton

Above left: The freestanding bath makes best use of the space in the family bathroom. The bath is from Watermark Plumbing Supplies and Angela added a cupboard which was a car-boot find

Above right: The attic was once a self-contained flat but is now a guest bedroom and workroom. The bed had to be taken apart to get it into place between the rafters. Angela’s workroom is where all her beautiful textiles are stored, many of which are made into soft furnishings for her home or sold through her stand at Station Mill Antiques

Left: This bed, from Beevers in Whitby, features a magnificent tapestry bedhead, while the wardrobe came from David Duggelby Auctioneers. ‘I try not to overcrowd the rooms with furniture,’ says Angela. ‘I like the character of the house to speak for itself’