'We were bonkers': Couple transform run-down Grade II-listed property into a charming, energy-efficient home with swimming pool

"Falling for the charms of an old property is a common tale, but perhaps less so when your own personal history is intertwined with it. But this was the case for Amanda and Warren East, who had regularly visited the beautiful Grade II*-listed building over the decades. "We were living in the house opposite for 27 years," explains Amanda. "Ours was a 1970s 'box' and although we'd changed it a lot, it was not the most characterful of houses." Then their neighbours, who were both in their nineties, left the house to a college in Cambridge, who in turn decided to sell."

""We didn't hesitate to snap it up. "In some ways we were bonkers - we were 59 and 60 at the time and the house needed a huge overhaul. There were burst pipes, rotten timbers, plasterwork that was beyond repair and a garden that needed a lot of attention," recalls Amanda. "It was perhaps slightly crazy to go for such a large house, but we didn't want a developer building a housing estate right next to us.""

"As well as the poor state of the property, its layout badly needed addressing. According to the project's heritage architect, the building was probably originally two or three cottages joined together, meaning the previous owners had to pass through one room to access the next - as in a railway carriage. Architect James Snell created a much more logical flow by removing a clunky 1950s extension and creating two modern box extensions. He also added a new hall with a full-height staircase and transformed the mostly unused dormer space in the roof to build two further bedrooms and a bathroom."

A long-familiar Grade II*-listed building was purchased by neighbours seeking to protect the site from redevelopment. The house required extensive structural and cosmetic work, including burst pipes, rotten timbers, and irreparable plasterwork, plus substantial garden restoration. The existing convoluted layout, likely the result of cottages joined together, was reorganized to improve flow. Architect James Snell removed a 1950s extension and added two modern box extensions, a new hall with a full-height staircase, and converted unused roof dormer space into two additional bedrooms and a bathroom.

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