Surrey Homes | SH66 | April 2020 | Gardens supplement

Previous pages: The dining room table used to be Rob’s
meeting room table, from his office in London. Both the
artwork on the wall behind the dining table and the suit
hanging from the ceiling in the corner were created by Rob.
This page: The bottles displayed in a cosy side snug room
were from Rob’s father who was an old-school pharmacist
Describing a house as ‘tardis-like’ is a typical estate
agent’s euphemism – suggesting that a house has
more to offer than is perhaps evident from the
outside. In the case of Rob and Jane’s house – a former pub
on the edge of the Weald in Kent – the size of the building
comes as little surprise. It’s obviously a substantial pad.
There are, however, a few clues on the outside to suggest
that this might be a rather special home. The words:
‘Saloon’, ‘Public Bar’ and ‘Dining Room’ etched into the
front windows is not something you see every day…
“It’s quite funny how people react,” says Jane, of the
Grade II listed former pub. “People say, ‘Oh, isn’t it a shame
you had to keep those windows!’ They’re pretty rare these
days.” It’s clear that Rob and Jane wouldn’t have it any
other way. It’s also evident that if any homeowners can rock
this original feature, it’s them. Rob, a creative director in
the music industry and Jane, whose career was in fashion
retail, have worked their creative magic on this building
over 20 years. Throw in the input of talented friends and
designers and you’ve got something pretty unique – and not
what you would expect to find in your average village.
“When we first moved here we lived upstairs in what
is now Rob’s studio while we ripped out the downstairs
and opened it all up,” says Jane. Originally, the ground
floor was dark and dingy, with lots of small rooms, linked
by a central corridor – plus lots of fire doors. The floors
were rotten, from years of spilt beer, and faux historic
decor hid the genuine old structure underneath.
“We were very lucky,” says Rob. “We had a friend, a former
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