Rising to the challenge

Taking on the restoration of a rundown Grade II-listed property and transforming it into a character-filled, energy-efficient home was an opportunity Amanda and Warren East couldn't resist

- WORDS Alison Wall

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.

Amanda and Warren 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.’

LAYOUT CHANGES

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.