Wealden Times | WT171 | May 2016 | Restoration & New Build supplement inside

Above: On either side of the fireplace, the alcoves are papered with Andrew Martin’s faux books and over the mantelpiece, Victoria has hung a gilt mirror
from a heavy antique chain that, cleverly, tilts the looking glass in a downward direction, reflecting the room
When six years ago, Victoria and David
decided to move from Clapham, a relatively
leafy part of London, they looked at several
charming country houses around Surrey, but none
of them really captured their imagination, “Until,”
Victoria says, “the day in late summer that we drove
along this particular lane and through the tunnel of
trees. I got butterflies in my stomach, and when I
saw the house, I just ‘knew’ it was the right one.”
It’s not surprising that the first glimpse of this
1915 house had such a strong effect on Victoria.
Set amidst typical Surrey woodland, and framed by
spreading copper beech trees, the long, handsome
Arts & Crafts style house looks just as if it was
intended for the perfect country house weekend.
Since that day, when the couple determined to buy
it, the house has undergone tremendous changes,
but has retained its special character. “Of course,
it was already a very lovely house when we saw it,”
explains Victoria, “but certain spaces just didn’t work,
especially for a family. I think I could see the potential
almost immediately, but it was a big project.”
Victoria trained and worked as a chartered surveyor
in London (albeit on the commercial side) and this
obviously enabled her to tackle such a huge undertaking
with confidence and great skill. “I suppose I knew how to
analyse and compare quotes and, although we used Jeremy
Sparrow as our architect, I had a very clear idea of what I
wanted. I must admit that we didn’t anticipate doing quite
so much work at first, but once you start taking down
walls and ceilings and redoing wiring and plumbing, there
are certain economies of scale, so actually it makes sense to
do a thorough refurbishment. “We used a very good local
firm, Kavbro, who have some really good tradespeople.”
Aware of the tremendous amount of clutter generated
by a young family, Victoria identified too, the necessity
This long, handsome Arts & Crafts style house looks just as if it
was intended for the perfect country house weekend
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