Prints Charming
Coast|November 2017

A passion for creativity and vivid colour fills this Georgian villa in Lyme Regis, which artist Hugh Dunford Wood has decorated with his own-design wallpapers and textiles.

Christine Stovell
Prints Charming

‘Celebrate life’ reads the sign above a door in Hugh and Candida Dunford Wood’s distinctive Georgian home in Lyme Regis. It’s a maxim that epitomises the energy and enthusiasm of artist Hugh and environmentalist Candida, and the dynamic way they’ve decorated this historic property, which is both individual and welcoming, and has direct views of the Jurassic Coast.

Hugh’s first encounter with the Grade II-listed house was as a temporary lodger when he was helping to establish the Lyme Regis ArtsFest, which launched in 2003. He returned home to Oxfordshire determined to live by the sea, but it was another three years before he and Candida bought a ruined cottage in the middle of Lyme, with the intention of replacing it with an eco house. Then, while the couple waited for planning permission, the old lady with whom Hugh had once lodged died. ‘At her funeral, her son asked if we would be interested in staying here while we built our house and he worked out what to do next.’ The conclusion of what Hugh describes as a ‘longer, miraculous story,’ was that he and Candida did not, after all, proceed with their original plans, but instead, in 2006, became the owners of the house that had been their temporary home.

THE LITTLE PLACE

Built in 1824, The Little Place was once home to Sir Laurence Whistler, a world-renowned glass engraver, who left his mark on several windows there and who is commemorated,too, by the secret wood leading down to the sea that is named after him. There is also a large, productive garden, where sculptures by various artists can be viewed in Dorset Arts Week.

This story is from the November 2017 edition of Coast.

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This story is from the November 2017 edition of Coast.

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