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- Oct 24, 2012
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@canuk-gal Sharon!
The Diocese have decided to pull out of the current sale with the 'toxic' purchaser & they have formally accepted our revised offer, so we are now the proud owners of a very large, very beautiful, very historical & famous old Vicarage!!
It is in a state to say the least & has been empty for a while, as the Vicar is now housed in a smaller house in the adjacent village with far less running costs. It needs a LOT of work. It doesn't even have heating & many of the windows are the original leaded ones set into stone mullions - it's freezing! The original stone gateway is no wider than a horse carriage & we can barely get the cars through, so that needs widening. But it turns out that the gate stumps were donated by another historical house in the next village built in 1692, so there is a covenant that the stone stumps MUST remain. They'll have to be carefully reinstated once they've been widened. The electrical board in the loft gave the builder a heart attack due to it's potential danger, so a complete rewire is needed. The kitchen gardens are swamped by brambles, the chicken coops are just a heap of rotten wood & weeds that you can't even wade through. There is a dormer on the top floor in the old servants quarters that is completely leaking & needs a total re-build. There is only one toilet. There are random sinks fitted in all 6 bedrooms that have the pipes tacked up the INSIDE of the walls of the reception rooms below, roughly pushed through holes in the ceilings that look like they've been gnawed by teeth......
BUT......! Underneath all the grotty carpets are the most BEAUTIFUL parquet floors that run throughout every level, completely immaculate & un-scratched. The coving in each room is ornate & stunning. Underneath the grotty kitchen lino flooring are bright red quarry tiles. The stone mullion windows are fairytale & we have already located a heritage window company that can replace the glass with double glazing without smashing the mullions out. There is an antique safe bolted to the floor underneath the stairs that nobody has a key for & seemingly isn't arsed to know what's inside?! It has a large date stone by the front door & was officially opened by the Lady of the Manor on ascension day in 1904, after the original timber Vicarage in another part of the village was burned down in 1898. The large sandstone step at the front door is completely worn away & smoothed into a crescent. It could tell me amazing stories & it will stay firmly in place, as will the iron boot scraper alongside it. There are 2 staircases: the grand staircase & the servants staircase at the other end. My eldest daughter has already told me that I can only use the servants stairs given that, you know, i'm the family servant.....
We will renovate sympathetically, whilst also going for a modern family home - underfloor heating, smooth walls, ensuite bathrooms in all the bedrooms, an amazing kitchen with a wall of bifold doors that will push right back, to bring the garden inside in the warmer months. A cinema room, a gaming room. And mummy's quiet library room, warm & cosy, with no TV or gadgets, just walls of bookshelves, beautiful sofas & views over the gardens.
Most of the surveys & paperwork have already been completed, so we should have the keys in our sweaty little mitts within 6 weeks. The agent sent me the biggest bouquet of flowers & it made me cry. We are still pinching ourselves & the girls have been on Pintrest designing their en-suites.
My mother in law is visiting from Somerset this weekend for Mother's Day, so the agent is meeting us there on Saturday to provide access whilst we show her & my own mother around. After everything this little team has been through, the roller coaster of building a business from zero to hero, we will damn well enjoy every minute of creating this beautiful forever home. I will take before & after pictures, so that I can update this thread many months from now
The Diocese have decided to pull out of the current sale with the 'toxic' purchaser & they have formally accepted our revised offer, so we are now the proud owners of a very large, very beautiful, very historical & famous old Vicarage!!
It is in a state to say the least & has been empty for a while, as the Vicar is now housed in a smaller house in the adjacent village with far less running costs. It needs a LOT of work. It doesn't even have heating & many of the windows are the original leaded ones set into stone mullions - it's freezing! The original stone gateway is no wider than a horse carriage & we can barely get the cars through, so that needs widening. But it turns out that the gate stumps were donated by another historical house in the next village built in 1692, so there is a covenant that the stone stumps MUST remain. They'll have to be carefully reinstated once they've been widened. The electrical board in the loft gave the builder a heart attack due to it's potential danger, so a complete rewire is needed. The kitchen gardens are swamped by brambles, the chicken coops are just a heap of rotten wood & weeds that you can't even wade through. There is a dormer on the top floor in the old servants quarters that is completely leaking & needs a total re-build. There is only one toilet. There are random sinks fitted in all 6 bedrooms that have the pipes tacked up the INSIDE of the walls of the reception rooms below, roughly pushed through holes in the ceilings that look like they've been gnawed by teeth......
BUT......! Underneath all the grotty carpets are the most BEAUTIFUL parquet floors that run throughout every level, completely immaculate & un-scratched. The coving in each room is ornate & stunning. Underneath the grotty kitchen lino flooring are bright red quarry tiles. The stone mullion windows are fairytale & we have already located a heritage window company that can replace the glass with double glazing without smashing the mullions out. There is an antique safe bolted to the floor underneath the stairs that nobody has a key for & seemingly isn't arsed to know what's inside?! It has a large date stone by the front door & was officially opened by the Lady of the Manor on ascension day in 1904, after the original timber Vicarage in another part of the village was burned down in 1898. The large sandstone step at the front door is completely worn away & smoothed into a crescent. It could tell me amazing stories & it will stay firmly in place, as will the iron boot scraper alongside it. There are 2 staircases: the grand staircase & the servants staircase at the other end. My eldest daughter has already told me that I can only use the servants stairs given that, you know, i'm the family servant.....
We will renovate sympathetically, whilst also going for a modern family home - underfloor heating, smooth walls, ensuite bathrooms in all the bedrooms, an amazing kitchen with a wall of bifold doors that will push right back, to bring the garden inside in the warmer months. A cinema room, a gaming room. And mummy's quiet library room, warm & cosy, with no TV or gadgets, just walls of bookshelves, beautiful sofas & views over the gardens.
Most of the surveys & paperwork have already been completed, so we should have the keys in our sweaty little mitts within 6 weeks. The agent sent me the biggest bouquet of flowers & it made me cry. We are still pinching ourselves & the girls have been on Pintrest designing their en-suites.
My mother in law is visiting from Somerset this weekend for Mother's Day, so the agent is meeting us there on Saturday to provide access whilst we show her & my own mother around. After everything this little team has been through, the roller coaster of building a business from zero to hero, we will damn well enjoy every minute of creating this beautiful forever home. I will take before & after pictures, so that I can update this thread many months from now
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