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Telegraph
21-07-2025
- General
- Telegraph
I hated doing up my Georgian house, but the result was worth it
There is a moment each day when I must admit I am terribly smug. It will be around 8pm, when I wave goodbye to my partner and teenager slumped on the sofa, climb the grand staircase of our 1842 Georgian home, and sink into our luxurious clawfoot bathtub. I will lie back among the soapy bubbles, and gaze out through the sash window at our wisteria-clad garden and Bristol's chimney-potted skyline beyond. The water will be hot and flowing thanks to our state-of-the art boiler. And if I so choose, I can even light a fire in the period fireplace. Breathing in the scent of lavender from my Neal's Yard bath salts, I will think: This is it. I have absolutely made it. But should I cast my mind back to how this room came into being, I will shudder violently and swiftly call on our butler to bring me a stiff drink. For just three years ago, this house was an absolute wreck. Years of neglect Dejected, unloved, with rotten beams and suspicious stains on the threadbare carpets, this so-called home had been neglected by its then-elderly owners for decades. It was bordering on the uninhabitable. During our initial family viewing after it came on the market in autumn 2021, we held our noses and blinked hard as we entered each room. The walls were yellow from cigarette smoke, the central heating was from the 70s. That's the 1870s. One bedroom boasted an indoor waterfall so impressive it could have been reviewed on TripAdvisor. The basement contained more damp than your average February half term, while the bath tub looked as if it had been used to murder goats. 'Old and nasty,' was our daughter's pithy verdict. And she was right. It was filthy, in need of huge renovations, financially prohibitive. And yet… yet… Underneath this almost criminal neglect, one word screamed out at us: potential. One of four Grade II listed cottages set on a historical street in north Bristol, its rooms were perfectly proportioned, the hallway spacious and light. The exterior walls were nearly two feet wide, the interior packed with period charm and original features so fetishised by a certain class in this country. Look, cornicing! A gas lamp! A pantry! My partner was smitten: 'Is this what it feels like?' he asked, slowly. 'Love at first sight?' The doer-upper to end all doer-uppers But as we all know, true love defies reason, and this was not logical for us. We didn't especially want a doer-upper, but we adored the location – set on a vibrant, pedestrianised street close to a good secondary school for our daughter. We were renting a home nearby at the time, but my partner and I both owned small properties that we rented out. It was time to cash in and finally buy together. But it wasn't that straightforward. Naturally, for a property as foul as this, there was an almighty bidding war, which we had no hope of winning. We are both barely employed journalists, and hadn't yet sold either of our houses. We had no reserves and were up against Bristol's ruddy-faced Range Rover brigade who all had a million quid down the back of the sofa. Still, when it went to sealed bids (anywhere over £750,000) we squeaked in with the highest offer of £816,000 – a thousand more than our closest rivals. To seal the deal, we also wrote the owners a gushing letter about how we were the only people who would do the house justice. The estate agent was nearly sick when he called us to say we had got it. He knew we were the least solid buyers – in need of a perilous bridging loan to make it all work. And he wasn't the only one aghast. For when my keen but ever-practical partner received the call, he sank to the floor, a broken man. 'Do you –' he asked me presciently. '– know what you are letting yourself in for, buying a wreck like this?' But of course I did. I knew, for instance, that this doer-upper would be a romantic project to unite us in our mid life. Weekends would be spent strolling hand in hand through flea markets, haggling down the price of antiques. Evenings under candlelight would see us put down our paint brushes, throw off our overalls and make wild love on the bathroom floor, without getting nails in our bits. Renovating a wreck What was I thinking? For it swiftly became clear that doing up a wreck is about as romantic as having a bath with the devil. Strangely, it seems most people know this. According to recent research by estate agents Hamptons, only 10 per cent of first time buyers would consider a doer-upper. Even among more-experienced second-time buyers, the figure only rises to a measly 17 per cent. Their expert says people have been put off in recent years by 'escalating building costs'. Plus, we are all apparently 'more workshy' and 'happy to pay a premium for a property that's already done – a turnkey home.' A turnkey home? But – I ask – where is the fun in that, when you can live instead without running water or a kitchen for two years? For in early 2022, we finally moved in – an occasion which was somewhat dampened by the fact four builders joined us. As we couldn't afford to rent elsewhere while the house was being gutted, we confined ourselves to one bedroom as the demolition unfolded. First the kitchen was ripped out, then the bathroom, swiftly followed by the basement, boiler system and floorboards of an entire floor. Meanwhile, we tried to stay inconspicuous, huddling around our bedroom's two electric heaters – until we got the bill and swiftly turned them off, dodging leaks and eating repellent microwave meals on the landing. On occasions we would attempt a cold drizzle of a shower, but as it was the only functioning water supply, we were always accompanied by paint pots that needed washing, or last night's plates still laced with M&S's Butter Chicken. We were filthy and exhausted, but the discomfort was perhaps nothing compared to the danger. For there is simply no 'elf and safety' when it comes to living on a building site. Living on the edge At one point, our free-range child, balancing on bedroom joists, fell off, only to puncture the new plasterboard underneath. Of course, I gave her a firm rollicking for her recklessness, only to commit the same near-fatal blunder myself the following day. It was equally perilous for the workers. Heat stroke! Nails through feet! One nearly died when an entire slate hearth crashed from a floor above (the ceiling had been removed), narrowly missing his head. Then there were the decisions! Taps! Sofas! Light switches! Which did I want? And this was when the real problems started. Because what did I want? What did I like? What were my tastes? The answer? Well, I didn't know! But why was I surprised? Had I really thought that overnight, I would turn into an interior designer? That I would actually care about fabrics, cooker hoods and the quality of lawn seed? My complete indecision and ennui was the last straw for my partner, who had already had a near coronary from the stress of trying to get the sale over the line. As he muttered Farrow & Ball colours in his sleep (dead salmon, pigeon's breath), took up residency in ScrewFix and slaved over paintwork, I slowly confirmed his worst suspicions: that I would be completely useless in such a mammoth project. I still feel quite ashamed at my lack of input but I was simply overwhelmed by the speed at which decisions needed to be made. And to this day, we cannot mention the time he dragged me to a bathroom showroom to choose some taps, only to watch me promptly fall asleep on a toilet. None of these low-points, however, compared to the turmoil created with our neighbours, for doing up a wreck is really not the best way to ingratiate yourself in a new area. Out went walls, the floors, old carpets and foot of mud from the basement so that it could be dampproofed. (The damp subsequently moved into our neighbour's house). The skip that was so often positioned on the street outside our front door attracted so many complaints, the council banned us from using one. All these sound like good reasons to not buy a doer-upper. And yet… I suppose it's like giving birth. You forget the pain and discomfort as soon as you have your perfect baby. Now, from the comfort of my finished home, only the good memories remain. Like when we ripped out a 1950s stud wall and unearthed a huge fireplace, where the servants would have once cooked food for their masters. And when we lit our first fire in the lounge, and stacked up our tins of Heinz baked beans in our glorious pantry. Finishing touches The last job – which we have just completed – was to touch-up the front of the house. There, under the creeping ivy was 'Melrose Cottage's' chipped into the stone work, albeit with an incorrect apostrophe. How heartening to think of a skilled workman back in the 1840s carving in this final touch. Our house is now complete. But I don't feel like we own it; we are merely custodians. The renovations cost us around £200,000 and I have no idea if we will make a profit when we eventually sell it. But it doesn't matter. Ultimately, we have restored what I personally believe is one of Bristol's most beautiful homes. We have brought her back to life, and that leaves me with a feeling that we have done something good, for ourselves, the house and our city. Despite everything, it was worth it.
Times
05-07-2025
- Times
A Georgian vicarage in Essex is for sale at £2.85 million
Set in seven acres on the edge of the village of Pleshey, near Best Places to Live 2025 entry Chelmsford, this grade II listed Georgian home, formerly a vicarage, has over 6,000 sq ft of accommodation, blending period detail with practical modern updates. On the ground floor of the main house there are four reception rooms, including a drawing room and well-proportioned dining room with high ceilings and sash windows, as well as a central staircase in the hall. Upstairs there are seven bedrooms across the first and second floors, plus four bathrooms and a games room. Outside, the property has a mature, landscaped setting, with formal gardens, a heated swimming pool, tennis court and outbuildings that include stables and a garage block. Chelmsford railway station, with direct trains to London Liverpool Street, is eight miles away. Housed in a converted grade I listed mansion, this three-bedroom flat has 2,360 sq ft of living space, high ceilings and a main bedroom situated in the old ballroom. On the ground floor there are two paved terraces leading to a private courtyard garden, while the communal gardens adjoin the grounds of Herstmonceux Castle. It's four miles from the market town of Hailsham. The Windmill was built in 1883 and converted into a residence in 1913. It has five bedrooms, three receptions, two receptions and a spiral staircase. The fifth bedroom is at the top of the windmill and has sweeping views of the Chilterns. The kitchen/breakfast room is on the lower ground floor and has French doors onto a terrace. The property is near the village of Cholesbury, four miles from Chesham. Set in a quarter acre in Farndale in the North York Moors National Park, this grade II listed stone cottage has two reception rooms including a beamed sitting room with an open hearth and a cosy living room. The kitchen/diner is warmed by an oil-fired Stanley range cooker, and a utility annexe includes a cloakroom and wood/coal store. Upstairs there is a main bedroom with en suite, two further bedrooms and a family bathroom. The Hoe is a grade II listed five-bedroom house on Plymouth Hoe spread across 4,749 sq ft and five storeys, including a lower ground floor apartment suitable for multigenerational living or a holiday let. The property has an open-plan kitchen/dining area, three bathrooms, a drawing room with views over the Hoe, as well as a courtyard garden and double garage. The house also has sea views across Plymouth Sound and Drake's Island. Dartmoor National Park is about 25 minutes away by car. This five-bedroom architect-designed family home spans three storeys. It features a Naked Kitchens walnut kitchen/diner, a shower room with Portuguese tiles, a utility room and a family room leading to a south-facing garden with no fewer than four secure Asgard sheds. The lower ground level has a bedroom that could be used as a home office. Triple glazing and solar panels mean the property is energy efficient, with an EPC rating of B (only A is better). It's a ten-minute walk from North Berwick railway station, with regular trains to Edinburgh in 33 minutes. • North Berwick named best place to live in Scotland 2025 A five-bedroom villa surrounded by 98 pine trees, with views over the national park in the heart of the Algarve. The main residence features an expansive covered terrace and outdoor swimming pool with barbecue area. Inside there are high wooden ceilings, a fireplace, wooden floors, a cosy sitting room, and a modern kitchen with a large island. The property includes a separate one-bedroom apartment. This pretty three-bedroom stone house in the medieval town of Beaumont in the Dordogne has spacious rooms, a bright conservatory and a heated, covered pool in its landscaped grounds. The ground floor features a conservatory, lounge, dining room, kitchen, utility room, storeroom, shower room, bedroom and WC. Upstairs there are two attic bedrooms. It comes with a double garage, wine cellar and workshop. Perched high above St Aubin's Bay, Villa Cambray is a five bedroom, five-bathroom home with 8,450 sq ft of meticulously crafted modern living space. The home has sweeping, sea-facing windows, multiple reception areas, a professional-grade kitchen with Gaggenau appliances, a cinema room and office, plus a gym. The main bedroom is on the top floor, while a central marble staircase enhances the sense of grandeur. There is an internal garage (more of a showroom for Ferraris and Porsches) for up to eight cars that has a turntable and car lift. There is also an infinity pool, plus extensive terraced areas and an outdoor kitchen.
Irish Times
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Look inside: Former RTÉ presenter's Glenageary home with French countryside-style garden for €2.25m
Address : 5 Rus-In-Urbe, Glenageary Road Lower, Glenageary, Co Dublin Price : €2,250,000 Agent : Sherry FitzGerald View this property on The former broadcaster Thelma Mansfield has lived in this lovely Georgian family home for the past 40 years, raising a family with her late husband, the photographer John Morris. Rus-in-Urbe, the bespoke group of six houses of which Mansfield's home is number 5, is well named: it's a piece of the French countryside in the heart of bustling Dún Laoghaire , set 100ft back from Glenageary Road , with beautifully landscaped gardens. Mansfield is a keen gardener, and she has created wonderful gardens to the front and back, filled with colourful agapanthus, wisteria, olive trees and a gorgeous fig tree. Since retiring from RTÉ in the late 1990s, Mansfield has pursued her lifelong passion for painting, which began when she won the Texaco children's art competition as a child. At the end of the back garden of her home is an original coach house which she currently uses as her artist's studio. It has a wood-burning stove, a shower room and vehicular access to the side lane. On the beautiful day when we visited the house, the sun was streaming in to the back garden, illuminating the works-in-progress on the easels and the dabs of paint on the palettes. Artist and former RTÉ presenter Thelma Mansfield and her dog, Puffin. Photograph: Rod Morris Entrance hall Drawingroom Kitchen Livingroom Diningroom Number 5 Rus-in-Urbe has a well-loved look about it – parts of the house would benefit from a refresh, but overall it exudes country charm, like visiting an old French farmhouse. Mansfield says it's been a happy house over the past four decades, but now she feels it's time to look for somewhere smaller and more manageable, and allow a new family to enjoy the wonders of country living in the suburbs that this fine five-bedroomed semidetached period house has to offer. The property measures a roomy 235sq m (2,530sq ft), is Ber-exempt and is for sale through Sherry FitzGerald seeking €2.25 million. READ MORE Number 5 is set well back from Glenageary Road Lower, with a 100ft-long garden that has been lovingly cultivated over the years. During Covid, says Mansfield, she would sit out in the front, sipping her coffee and greeting her neighbours from a safe distance. A fanlight and sidelights flank the front door, bringing light into the large entrance hall. The drawingroom to the left has two sash windows with working shutters, and folding doors lead in to the diningroom. Both these rooms have detailed timber fireplaces, and the intricate ceiling coving and centre roses are present and correct in the hall, drawingroom and diningroom. French doors lead out from the diningroom to a rear courtyard, which runs alongside the kitchen and is perfectly positioned for al-fresco dining on a summer's evening. Off the hallway is a guest WC, with a lovely arched window and fitted bookshelves filled with antique books; off the lobby at the end of the entrance hall is a fully tiled wet room with a heated towel rail. The country-style kitchen is laid with original quarry tile floors and fitted with bespoke cabinetry painted in a Farrow & Ball Hardwicke White. It's a little slab of Provence in Dún Laoghaire, and it's clear that this is the social hub of the house. Mansfield brews up a coffee while I ask her about her career in broadcasting. When she was called in for an interview with RTÉ in 1965, she was just 16, she tells me. 'I didn't even know what a continuity announcer was,' she says. She became a household name in the 1980s and 1990s as the co-host of Live at 3, with the late Derek Davis. These days, painting has become her full-time job, and the rooms in her Glenageary home display many of her paintings, along with the photographic work of her late husband, and the antique box cameras he collected. Mansfield has exhibited her vibrant paintings in several galleries, and finds inspiration in the views over Dublin Bay from Dún Laoghaire and the views over Galway Bay from Spiddal, where she spends a lot of time. Looking out to rear garden from diningroom Rear garden Rear garden At the back of the kitchen is a bright garden room with Velux roof lights and French doors out to the rear garden. A utility room to the side houses the gas boiler and is plumbed for a washing machine. The back garden is beautifully landscaped with feature topiary, including a yew tree trimmed into a spiral. There's a raised goldfish pond with a water feature and several relaxation areas to maximise the sunlight coming in from the south and west. On this lovely May day, it feels like we've been whisked to the south of France. Upstairs the gallery landing gives an impressive view over the entrance hall. Overlooking the front garden is the large main bedroom, with two picture windows with working shutters, ceiling coving and a centre rose. It has a large en suite with a stained-glass window and slipper bath. Also overlooking the front is a smaller bedroom, with sash window with working shutters, ceiling coving and a centre rose. A third bedroom has a picture window with working shutters overlooking the back garden. Towards the back of the house, overlooking the courtyard, are two more bedrooms, plus a bathroom with step-in bath with a tiled surround. The upstairs layout could work well for a small family, with the parents and the kids in the front section, and the back section reserved for guests. Mansfield can tell when a painting looks right 'when my eye approves', and her visual instinct is plain to see in this fine family home. Your eye will definitely approve.
Sunday World
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Sunday World
Inside Graham Norton's €5.8M luxury home of 20 years as it goes on the market
The Irish TV presenter is selling his home of 20 years as he wants to downsize Graham Norton has put his €5.8M luxury London home on the market. The presenter has lived at the home in Wapping for 20 years. It has now gone on sale for a whopping €5.8 million (£4.9 million). Described by real estate agents Knight Frank as 'a beautifully presented residence' the three-storey home has four bedrooms, four sitting rooms and five bathrooms. It is 'set in an exclusive and private garden square enclave, that is positioned on the banks of the River Thames in a prime and central Wapping setting.' The home, which was built in 1811 as a customs office by the London Dock Company, is large with bare red brick in areas, with expensive wood flooring throughout, and its many windows flood the home with light. It also comes with an adjoining rear two-floor building with double-height ceilings. Image: Knight Frank A snap showcasing the outside of the home shows the residence tucked away among the hustle and bustle of the city with a large green area in front of it, set against the backdrop of London's famous river and the skyline. More pictures give potential buyers an exclusive look behind Norton's red front door. The main living area appears to be located just a few steps up from inside the entrance. It includes large windows, a high ceiling with beams, and large artworks adorned with spotlights. The perfect spot for hosting his celebrity friends, it comprises a green leather couch opposite two white armchairs with a coffee table on a rug in between. Image: Knight Frank The dining room, with a large oval table, and plenty of seats, a fireplace, and walls adorned with art, has two large doors that open onto a tiled outdoor area that has plenty of greenery. Another spacious outdoor area comes with wall-mounted heaters and an awning so you can still enjoy some fresh air even when the weather isn't ideal. One of the living areas, which is just inside the back door, serves as an airy, yet snug space for reading, with wall-to-ceiling book shelves, cosy armchairs and a fireplace. More books fill the shelves of another cosy room in the home, alongside two light coloured sofas, cushions, artwork and a large writing desk – a must-have for the best-selling author. Image: Knight Frank A hidden nook on a lower floor of the home is next to a staircase, with images showing it's decorated with a keyboard and an acoustic guitar. The well-equipped kitchen comes with a wine rack built into an island, a large American-style fridge-freezer and stunning wood flooring. One of the bathrooms pictured is white, with a large window and seafoam green tiles, and comes with a double sink with a free-standing bathtub. Image: Knight Frank Snaps show inside two of the home's bedrooms, one of which features a stunning period-style bed, with a leather bed in the other. The top floor is occupied in its entirety by the master bedroom. Norton lives at the Georgian Home in the Pier Head conservation area with his husband of three years, Jonathan McLeod and their black cockapoo, Douglas. The couple now plan to downsize. Graham Norton. Photo: Shane Anthony Sinclair Speaking to the Sunday Times, the 62-year-old said he's been thinking about selling the home for a couple of years, and finally feels 'brave enough to make a huge change to my life.' The 62-year-old added: 'My favourite times have definitely been enjoying a drink sitting by the river on a summer's evening. 'My least favourite memory in the house was that time one of the dogs got stuck in a neighbour's shrub.'
