Castle ruin neighbour is one to keep

Sarah Devine declares Hume is where the heart is after surveying this magnificent 18th-century mansion turned modern family home enveloped in a rolling rural landscape

Nestled below the ruins of the 13th-century Hume Castle in the heart of the bucolic Scottish Borders, Hume Hall is a beautiful family home that is blessed with some of the finest scenery the region has to offer.

The original part of the home is thought to date back to the 1700s, with a further three wings added before the turn of the 20th Century. Today, it stands as an exceptional living option for modern family life.

Richard Hutchinson and his wife, Karen, bought the property at the end of 2017. While it was in a really good condition, having been welllooked after by its previous occupants, Richard says the couple have added their own touches over the years.

He recalls: “We were living in Northumberland, where we had a farm, and we had always loved the Scottish Borders, where we used to go caravaning. We were shopping around the market and we had looked at some other properties, but as soon as we walked through the door of

Hume Hall, we fell in love with the place. We loved the feel of it and its size because, while it is a big house, it really doesn’t feel like it is.”

One of the first tasks the couple carried out was to improve the mansion’s overall energy efficiency by installing multi-fuel stoves in the three large fireplaces of its main reception rooms, while updating the decor.

All 14 chimney pots were also replaced to ensure they matched, and the couple lovingly hand-painted the exterior of the entire house.

The installation of fibre broadband has allowed Richard, a landscape manager, to work from home easily.

“I work in the office here and it really gives you a lift just to see outside the window and admire the views,” he adds.

“If you do things a bit at a time, you don’t realise how much you’ve done, so it’s only when we look back at old photographs we realise just how much we have added to the house.”

The accommodation is set over three storeys with the ground floor giving way to a good-sized drawing room lit by a large bay window, a formal dining room with attractive Palladian arched glazing, and

an open-plan kitchen with family area leading to a snug and office.

The conservatory, with elegant French doors opening to a patio area, boasts wonderful views over the garden and provided the couple with the ideal location for their daughter’s wedding.

“We had the conservatory laid out like a little church, and the garden was the most beautiful setting for photographs as well,” Richard explains.

Six of the Hall’s double bedrooms are on its first floor, with another two on the top level, but despite the generous 6,800sq ft floor space, Richard emphasises that the house and gardens are easy to maintain.

“It is a great house for a party as you can have a lot of people here,” he enthuses. “But the house can be as big or as small as you want, and we don’t need to heat the whole of the house. We tend to live in the smaller portion of the house and only really open the rest of it up when we have visitors.”

The couple have carried out a lot of work to the grounds – which extend to more than 2.3 acres and feature an allweather tennis court and paddock – including removing some trees to ensure the beautiful views of the Borders countryside can be enjoyed to the fullest extent.

To the south of the house are spectacular vistas over the Tweed Valley and, on clear days, the Cheviot Hills.

Richard says the couple will both desperately miss the house, but hopes they can stay in the local area.

He adds: “We are a ten-minute drive to Kelso, and the other towns of Galashiels, Melrose, and Berwick are nearby. And then Edinburgh and Newcastle aren’t too far away.

“It is very therapeutic to live here and there is always a lot going on in the towns.

“We have really enjoyed the sense of community here. When we moved in, the first thing we did was invite around 28 people over for a Sunday dinner to introduce ourselves, and we were delighted by how friendly everyone is here.”

To find out more, telephone Paton & Co. on 01289 542 400.

As soon as we walked through the door of Hume Hall, we fell in love

with the place