Wealden Times | WT178 | December 2016 | Interiors supplement inside

Above: The teddy on the bedroom mantlepiece was given to Eve when she was three days old. The painting is ‘An Angel Watches
Over Me’ by John Afflick
says Tim. The inglenook also provides the perfect place
for the family to hang their Christmas stockings. These
days there are nine stockings – which keep the family
going until ‘official’ present unwrapping after lunch.
Across the room, double doors lead out into a large
conservatory which was built about 18 years ago. The
additional room has had a transformative effect on the
way the family enjoy the house, with large family meals
including Christmas lunch now eaten in this verdant,
plant-filled space where lemon, bougainvillea, hibiscus
and jasmine plants encircle the long dining table. Views
are of the garden, pond and neighbouring fields.
You’d think that there couldn’t be a nicer spot to
enjoy a family meal, but there is a new addition to
the home, that Tim is eager to show me. We head out
into the chill of the garden, a low wintry sun offering
a touch of warmth, and stand on the new timber deck,
which partially covers the pond. Two olive trees and a
tree fern add to the continental feel of the sun deck.
“We built this this summer,” says Tim. “It hadn’t really been
planned, it was just a sort of organic thing that happened...”
As well as offering a tranquil spot to sit – it’s true that all
you can hear is running water and birds – the deck also
offers an entirely different view of the house and barn.
Standing back, we admire the 16th-century structure,
with its almost invisible Victorian extension on one
end, and Tim’s more recent addition on the other end,
of larder, porch and utility room. Family members are
laying the table in the conservatory, oblivious to the
pair of us watching from the garden. It’s the perfect
scene – an historic, Kentish family home – and I rather
wish I was coming to join them for Christmas.
Address Book:
Artworks by the late Anne-Catherine Phillips
annecatherine-phillips.co.uk
Lizzie Riches portalpainters.co.uk
Marie Prett of The Singing Soul Gallery marieprett.co.uk
Richard Adams ryeartgallery.co.uk
Steve Moss all-purpose builder 07952 994531
101 wealdentimes.co.uk