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Ideal Home UK
|October 2025
A CHANCE CONVERSATION PROMPTED ANNE AND JOHN TO EMBRACE A RURAL LIFESTYLE AND TRANSFORM A FORMER VICARAGE
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When Anne Spratling and John Ayris completed the renovation of their Edwardian seaside home, they weren't planning to move. But a conversation with friends about country life planted a seed, and not long after, they found themselves drawn to a former vicarage in the Kent countryside. Now restored and extended, their 1830s property is a space where history, nature and modern design coexist beautifully.
WHAT DREW YOU TO THIS HOUSE?
'We spoke to some friends who told us a romantic story about taking on a crumbling old house in the countryside.
That really captured our imagination and got us thinking."
WERE THERE ANY CONDITIONS ATTACHED TO BUYING A FORMER VICARAGE? 'Yes, actually. The previous owner wanted reassurance that we would respect both the heritage of the house and the community around it. The property had long-standing ties with the local parish, and the land had historically been used by neighbours for raising animals. We knew we needed to tread carefully and sensitively."
WHAT STATE WAS IT IN WHEN YOU BOUGHT IT? This story is from the October 2025 edition of Ideal Home UK.
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