Wealden Times | WT188 | October 2017 | Kitchen & Bathroom supplement inside

this page: A fruit pergola leads down to the garden,
enclosed with walls newly built from old bricks, which
look as though they have always been there
perfectly atmospheric. In one of them, there’s a – slightly
terrifying looking – old water heater at the head of the bath.
I asked Paul if it still worked, imagining much
spluttering and the few drips of brown hot
water experienced in the country houses of my
childhood, accompanied by booming pipes.
“Oh no,” he said. “We found it in a reclamation
yard and put it in. It’s not connected.”
While the grand reception and bedrooms are
very splendid, it was these little details in the more
humble regions of the house that I found completely
captivating and left me quite awestruck as I bade Paul
farewell at St. Benedict’s splendid front door.
Seeing it again, I thought I’d better check about that
shining brass door furniture. Original, of course…?
“We found it all in reclamation yards,” he told me.
Address Book:
To find about more about St. Benedict, and to book a stay, visit
victorian-bed-and-breakfast.com, email paul.oxborrow@zen.co.uk
or call 01424 434973 / 07802 543661
77 wealdentimes.co.uk