Settling down

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Publish date: 5th Novermber 2009

John and Vicky Macdonald spent many years living abroad. This was both before and after they were married and included seven years in France where their children first went to school. “We were living on the edge of a very picturesque forest near Versailles before we moved back to England in 1997. This was just after the children had started at Marlborough College,” explains Vicky.

They had a beautiful cottage in Winterbourne Monkton with a stream running through the garden, “It was a pretty 16th Century property on the edge of the village. It was originally two cottages, which had been knocked into one with three acres of garden all around,” says Vicky. They used the country property as a base when they weren’t in their London flat or abroad.

The cottage was perfect for them at the time as it was near Marlborough for the children’s school and London for work. However, after 15 years and the children having now left school, they decided it was time to find somewhere that they wanted to live because it was a lovely place to be and not because of the convenience of the locality.

“Moving has never been an issue, as we’re used to it! Both our families moved around a lot and we seem to have carried on the tradition with our family,” Vicky laughs. “We now wanted to be somewhere quiet and more rural; Marlborough was a lovely area but it was a bit too busy for us.”

They tried moving to London full time before opting for a quieter life, “We had thought of making some changes to the Pimlico flat, it has some wonderful cellars which we could have done something with,” explains Vicky.

However, they set about finding something in the country. They didn’t want to be completely cut off, but rather just a bit out of the way. But life is fickle, as when they discovered their present house on the internet they thought it would be a great stop gap whilst they searched for something permanent. But they fell in love with the place and have been there ever since.

After selling the Winterbourne Monkton cottage without trouble, John, a retired oil economist, and Vicky moved in the autumn of 2007. The house itself was beautiful but very run down and it needed a lot of love! Despite being old and somewhat undernourished it had wonderful character with wonky windows and lovely fireplaces and cornicing. Fortunately, the house also hadn’t been ruined with inappropriate modern fittings.

“It was absolutely begging for a sympathetically makeover, being shabby and a bit damp with exposed pipes and a tired interior. The house needed freshening up right to the core, however structurally it was sound and made from sturdy Somerset stone,” adds Vicky.

As so much needed doing, they spent three months camping in the house. The bare bones were done during this time and they were able to get going on the decorating.

As part of the Mells Estate, which has been in the hands of the same family- the Hornes, and then through marriage, the Asquiths – since they acquired it from Glastonbury Abbey after the dissolution of the monasteries, the old reading room was built during the 16th Century as a public house. It was called the Bull Inn, and the undercroft was originally stabling. The original village road descended past the house and across the millstream and Mells river.

It has since performed a number of village functions: manorial court, reading room and more recently W.I. and craft meetings, eventually being turned into a dwelling house in its present form about 10 years ago.

Vicky admits she loves doing houses up, “In the end, if everything comes together then you’re on the right track; we didn’t have a particular style, simply whatever worked for us and the house.”

They used lots of reclamation yards which were brilliant for the style of the house, reflecting the age and unique quirkiness. On their travels they have picked up many pieces and a range of ideas that just fit perfectly.

“The kitchen seemed to take the longest, what with the tongue and groove panelling, cornicing and the painted cupboards, but getting rid of everything was the most time consuming bit. We became quite gung ho about it all really!” laughs Vicky.

Now the structural and decorative works are finished, and after spending much time on the garden last year, they are happy with the house and enjoy their time there together with their three West Highland Terriers. “The history of the house is fascinating, its interesting, old and beautiful and peaceful. I don’t think we’ll be leaving this tranquil place for a long time. It’s quite deceptive as there aren’t many rooms, but they’re all large so we have loads of space and we’ve had fun making it our home,” says Vicky with a smile.