In the lord’s footsteps
This beautiful Georgian manor house and its owner are a match made in heaven. Heather Dixon Reports. Pictures by Dave Burton.
Angela Wardale loves decorative antiques, beautiful old textiles, classic style and original features, so when she saw an elegant Grade II-listed Georgian manor house in Norton, near Malton, it was love at first sight. Seeing beyond the yellow walls and sparse kitchen, Angela visualised the property’s true potential as a beautiful fivebedroom family home set in a private halfacre walled garden.
“We were living in a town house 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 free-standing country-style furniture.
An old aluminium lean-to was taken down and replaced with an oakframed 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 stuff that was taken away,” says Angela. “It made a huge difference to the back – really opened it up. After that we landscaped the garden by repositioning a pond and levelling it all – finding an old well in the process.”
Inside, the house had a wealth of original features, including tiles in the 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, more recently, from her new stand at Station Mill Antiques in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, run by a team she manages from Yorkshire.
“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 discovered on my travels around the country, and some were bought more recently. 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 the next day, it will have gone. I go all over the place looking for things. I’m drawn to anything that is different or unique.”
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,” she says. “My mother had a massive influence on me – she particularly loves