Surrey Homes | SH14 | December 2015 | Interiors supplement inside

HOUSE OF THE MONTH by John Graham-Hart
1.
Changing faces
John Graham-Hart finds properties with former lives
I
can’t remember his name and doubt, after all these years, he’s alive enough
to remember mine. However, I do remember we spent a very pleasant hour
or two together with his granddaughter, who spoke the English he didn’t,
on a hillock overlooking an impossibly beautiful corner of the Pacific Ocean.
He had been a fisherman and, when his fishing days came to an end, had
dragged his old boat on to the hill, overturned it, cut a little door in the hull,
fitted a couple of windows prised from a long-dead Chevy and moved in.
His granddaughter explained that his sons had built him a house in the village
but he preferred to live here. When I asked him why, his eloquent answer was just
an incredulous wave of an arm, over his home and out in an arc across the sparkling
water. Was I completely blind?
Over the centuries, humans have developed the skill and will to transform any
item or structure of sufficient size, into a shelter or home. And so it continues to this
day – from railway carriages on Pagham beach to textile factories in Tribeca, from
Boeing 727s in Mississippi to shipping containers in Costa Rica, from double decker
buses and aircraft hangers to fire stations, forts, follies and, of course, fishing boats.
Virtually any enclosed space is game and these conversions are much beloved by
creative architects who now grandly term the process of conversion ‘adaptive reuse’.
And who can blame them? The opportunity to give a neglected and disused structure
– often with a considerable historical or architectural value – a completely new lease
of life as a much-loved home is exceptionally attractive.
In the Weald we are, perhaps, a little short on abandoned 727s but the Wealden
Times usually has a rich stock of oasts, barns, mills, stables, chapels and former
workhouses. Alas, we’ve yet to find a forsaken fishing boat for you but if you fancy a
home with a history all its own, here’s a selection…
1. Oast Barn
Where? Oast Barn is on the edge of
the small town of Edenbridge, close to the
Kent Surrey border.
(Google Maps TN9 6LE)
What? The Grade II listed property
is an outstanding conversion of a 17th
century oast and its barn, renovated to
an exceptional standard by its present
owners. The heart of the building is the
vast vaulted and galleried space that is the
drawing room, with soaring windows and
bi-folding doors opening out to the garden
on both sides. On the ground floor there
is also a circular family room in the base
of the roundel, a kitchen/breakfast room,
dining room and two bedrooms, one with
an en suite shower room and doors to
the garden.
Upstairs are three more bedrooms and
two elegant bathrooms. Outside there is
a lovely stone-walled terrace, as well as
attractive gardens, a large pond, summer
house and views over the surrounding
countryside. There is also an old piggery
with great potential for a new life as
garaging, a gym or office.
How much? Oast Barn is on
the market at £1,700,000 and is with
Fine & Country in Woldingham.
Call 01883 653040 or visit
www.fineandcountry.com
www.wealdentimes.co.uk
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