Ship comes in for gem restored to its former glory after conversion
the location and thought it was a fantastic project,” says David.
“I am fascinated by property and love looking at houses for sale in the Yorkshire Post on Saturday, which is where we saw this place advertised. We viewed it and were blown away, even though it was really too big for just the two of us.”
The couple couldn’t resist it and bought the property 11 years ago.
“It had been a hotel for 30 years and the owners had added lots of extra bathrooms but they had done it carefully so all the period features were still there.
“It was lucky they bought it because the other bidder at auction in the 1970s was a builder who wanted to demolish it,” says David.
He and Ann have invested heavily in the house and have worked hard to create a luxurious home with beautiful gardens.
They spent two years “living” with builders who replaced the catering kitchen with more attractive painted wood units and reconfiguring the 11 bedrooms to create eight. They also restored plasterwork, decorated and created a spacious garage with annexe, while reviving the grounds.
“The biggest job was dealing with the hotel’s three old heating systems and creating one effective one,” says David, who left the hotel lift in situ.
Appleton Hall now has an entrance hall, staircase hall, drawing room, dining room, library, sitting room, bar, office, study, kitchen and breakfast room, pantry room with walk-in fridge, utility room, boot room, cloakroom, lift and cellars with wine cellar. Upstairs, there is a master bedroom with dressing room and en-suite, two guest bedrooms with en-suite, a bedroom suite with sitting room and four further bedrooms with en-suites. Outside, there are south east facing formal gardens with a summer house. The new double garage has an annexe above with plumbing for kitchen and bathroom. The hall is set in 1.6 acres.
David and Ann are selling to downsize and spend more time at their holiday home in France.
“Since buying the hall we have sold our business and so want to spend more time in France and buy a smaller place in the centre of York. We’ll miss this place though. It is a really warm, welcoming home and it’s been a wonderful place for entertaining out clients and friends from Hong Kong and Europe.” HOME owners can contest plans for developments that overshadow their homes, but if new proposals gets the go ahead, this right to light would be deemed irrelevant.
Hugh Berridge, senior partner at QualitySolicitors Clapham & Collinge, says: “Home owners may fear that this potential legal change could significantly impact upon the value of their property.
“There could be implications on the value of people’s houses as a result, with access to natural light being a quality many of us choose to prioritise when buying a house.
“The Government’s primary aim here appears to be promoting housing developments and curbing the delays in building projects held up by objections in the planning process.” THE average price of a new home was £236,122 in April 2013, compared to £231,797 in March, rising 1.9 per cent over the month.
Steven Lees, director of SmartNewHomes, says: “It has been a very positive spring for developers. The launch of the Help-to-Buy scheme this month has boosted confidence in the new homes market, reflected in positive monthly, quarterly and annual price growth. The premium of living in a new build property in London continues to soar, exacerbated by continued strong interest from wealthy foreign buyers and a lack of supply. Over 60 per cent of the capital’s new homes are being bought by international buyers, often off-plan.”