WELCOME HOME A brace of

GREAT MINDS BRINKE ALIKE

There are property experts, and then there’s John & Rachel Taylor, who have created – no, crafted – their property with an assiduous attention to detail and a terrific sense of design flair. Welcome to Brinke House Barn!

THE DETAILS Brinke House Barn, Wisbech

Location: Long Sutton nine miles; Holbeach 14 miles; Spalding 21 miles; Peterborough 21 miles. Provenance: Contemporary barn completed in 2017 and offering 3,500ft2 of modern living space. Rooms: Four bedrooms with en suite and dressing room to master, three further en suites. Three receptions; living kitchen, sitting room and sunroom. Garden room.

Guide Price: £995,000.

Find Out More: Sowerbys, Kings Lynn, call 01553 766741 or see www.sowerbys.com. JOHN & RACHEL TAYLOR aren’t just poised on the brink of greatness. They have in fact leaped over the edge, parachuted back down to Earth and have been greeted with rapturous applause for their magnum opus, Brinke House Barn, complete and on the market seeking new owners. There are property developers, then experienced property developers... and then there’s John and Rachel. The former joined his father in the demolition industry back in the 1970s when a less than devout approach was taken to retaining heritage building materials. Soon, John realised the importance of keeping and reusing old bricks, slate and other materials, founding his reclamation firm, which rescues old bricks, stone and roofing materials to be reused in the projects of local architects, developers and self-builders. His experience as a property developer developed in parallel and John reckons that they’ve worked on about 30 properties so far, bringing to bear a working knowledge of materials and a not inconsiderable amount of design flair and attention to detail.

It’s testimony to John’s talent that upon seeing Brinke House Barn for the first time I really couldn’t date it. A quick search revealed a property of the same name so I believed, incorrectly as it turns out, that the property was a listed building. “We moved to the site in 2000 and built four new properties here, purchasing the land and then the older property before beginning work on the new Brinke House,” says John. “The goal was to create an environment for open plan living suitable for a family that would be styled like a barn conversion but would retain a sense of individuality to look well-established without becoming a modern pastiche of a barn conversion.” Naturally John was picky about making the most of heritage building materials and about reflecting the area’s architectural vernacular, utilising bullnose bricks – handcutting 5,000 of them – to soften angular lines, and replicating that curved architecture everywhere from the interior of the inglenook fireplace to the mezzanine level landing above the main open plan living space. The landing area necessitated glass specially made for the house in Huddersfield then curved by roller in Birmingham, before it could be installed into a bespoke channel fabricated in Manchester, finally yielding the frameless design with no visible metal fittings that the couple sought. The living kitchen’s cabinetry has been created from recycled plastic, and covered in work surfaces hewn from a single piece of granite for a consistent Orinoco grain with no seams or interruption, waterfalling down the edges for smooth lines. A boiling water tap, integrated premium appliances and brushed copper handles complete the look. >>

>> Everywhere is a symphony of materials, visual and tactile, from the bespoke Dekton surface in the utility with its quirky industrial gate valves to the solid walnut treads of the bespoke staircase. There’s a brushed nickel and copper bath in the master en suite and tiny tiles – about 28,000 of them – used to create the gently curving en suites to each of the four bedrooms. Detail. Everywhere.

The house is arranged over three floors with a large open plan living space to the ground floor and three internal reception rooms. Throughout the downstairs space is a polished concrete floor with underfloor heating, and the two bedrooms on each of the upper floors – each with their own en suites – have solid walnut flooring.

A sun room with bifold doors opens to two aspects and leads to a covered garden room which incorporates an outdoor kitchen. The property is positioned centrally in a plot of around an acre which is designed to capture a 180° radius of sunshine throughout the day.

A desire to downsize and flex their creative talents once more, plus a house waiting for them in North Norfolk, has left the couple to put Brinke House Barn on the market. They’ll miss it enormously, as this was not just another property in the life of John and Rachel, but undoubtedly the finest one they’ve ever created. n

Guide Pride: £2,600,000

Situated within the historic Uphill area of Lincoln, Atherstone House has six bedrooms, 1.2 acres of land and six reception rooms, not to mention its position right next to Lincoln Cathedral. A truly spectacular home.

www.pygott-crone.com and www.savills.co.uk.

n Mill House, Market Deeping

Guide Price: £2,500,000

Mill House is, as its name suggests, a former watermill with the original stream, pond and weir, plus 18 acres and a heated indoor swimming pool. Six bedrooms, five receptions.

www.pelhamjames.co.uk.

n London Road, Boston

Guide Price: £1,950,000

Rare opportunity to acquire a magnificent Grade II Listed estate steeped in history. Four reception rooms, seven bedrooms, 11 acres of parkland. Extensive wine cellars under entire house; workshop; attic rooms; coach house and Victorian greenhouse.

A HOUSE FIT forA HOUSE FIT for ROYALTY ROYALTY

This month’s featured property has royal connections, having accommodated His Royal Highness This month’s featured property has royal connections, having accommodated His Royal Highness Prince Albert (later King George VI) and the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII). Prince Albert (later King George VI) and the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII). It was sympathetically extended in 1830 by none other than architect Augustus Welby Pugin! It was sympathetically extended in 1830 by none other than architect Augustus Welby Pugin!

THE DETAILS The Cottage, South Rauceby, Sleaford

Location: Sleaford 3.6 miles; Grantham 13.3 miles; Lincoln 17.7 miles; Newark/A1 15.7 miles. Provenance: 17th century cottage created for the Welby family with 18th century additions by Auguste Pugin. Rooms: Four receptions currently arranged as drawing room, dining room, library, and breakfast room. Six bedrooms with dressing room and en suite to principal bedroom.

Guide Price: £1,250,000.

Find Out More: Mount & Minster, Lincoln. Call 01522 716204 or see www.mountandminster.co.uk. IT ISN’T OFTEN we’re able to report on a local property with royal connections. But then, The Cottage on Rauceby’s Main Street is rather special. Its name is a little deceptive, really, since the term cottage implies somewhere modest in size. With nearly 4,500ft2 of living space, this property is anything but... and its appeal isn’t just in its scale, either. Set in an acre of grounds, the property was created in or around 1655 for The Welby family. It was located adjacent to the long since demolished chapel, and it’s believed the place served as a convent, with its niche and bell provision still visible on the southern elevation. The Welby baronetcy was created in 1801 for William Welby, MP for Grantham, and its current holder is Sir Richard Welby, with three heir apparent/presumptives. It was in 1830 that respected architect Augustus Welby Pugin was commissioned to extend The Cottage on the eastern and southern aspects before beginning work on perhaps his most famous commission; rebuilding The Houses of Parliament for Sir Charles Barry, following the fire of 1834.

The designs that Pugin created for the Houses of Parliament were ratified by a committee chaired by Edward Cust, brother of the first Baronet Brownlow, custodian of nearby Belton House. When Belton House was used as the home of the Machine Gun Corps during the First World War, HRH Prince Albert, later King George VI was stationed at nearby Cranwell, and visited Belton House prior to its decommissioning the following year. Prince Albert stayed at The Cottage, as did HRH the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII. More recently, the property’s owners moved in around December 1997, having relocated from the US to restore and refurbish the property. Despite viewing a couple of other properties afterwards, they knew that The Cottage was the property for them, and that nothing else would compare. A complete redecoration followed the moving around of some rooms, with the original kitchen now used as a library and a scullery and boot room now serving as a breakfast kitchen. In addition the property was repointed, and its electrics and plumbing were given some love and attention, whilst windows were all replaced with new hardwood timber ones. Today The Cottage is arranged over three floors with a large drawing room and dining room as well as a library and breakfast room to the ground floor. A separate kitchen and utility room provides practicality whilst a cellar – once believed to be a priest’s hole – provides extra storage, and there’s additional storage space on the second floor too. The property’s six bedrooms are split between the two upper floors, with the

master bedroom suite incorporating a dressing room and en suite bathroom with lots of practical space for storage. The gardens are well-established and beautifully landscaped, consisting principally of grassed lawns and mature borders with trees, shrubs, perennials and flower beds. A ha-ha wall (typical of Capability Brown who landscaped nearby Burghley House) leads to a lower tier garden with an attractive wood and concealed pond. A courtyard garden is located to the eastern elevation. To the exterior of the house is a double garage with additional storage plus a gardener’s store, and two additional storage areas. The current owners say that over the years they’ve changed the garden, added some new planting areas and created the terrace adjacent to the sitting room. A move back to the US to be closer to family means the owners have put the property on the market, but say they’re hoping for a new family to own and love The Cottage as much as they have. It’s certainly an easy property to fall in love with, able to boast lots of history, character and space. Add in to the mix a great location in a super village with both Sleaford and Grantham in easy reach, and we think The Cottage is one of the nicest properties on the market in the area right now! n

Guide Price: £650,000

Spacious six bedroomed Arts & Crafts house in sought-after location set in an acre of grounds with six bedrooms and three reception rooms. Approximately 1.5 miles to the south of the resort overlooking Seacroft Golf Course and the beach.

www.poyntons.com

n Aisby, Grantham

Guide Price: £1,850,000

Wildwood is, Lincolnshire’s only Huf Haus, created in 2004 using post and beam construction methods. Five bedrooms, open plan living space and panoramic glazing over 12 acres of land.

www.fineandcountry.com

n Low Farm, Fulstow, Louth

Guide Price: £1,600,000

Beautiful four bedroom farmhouse set in quiet location with 2,500ft2 living space, recently refurbished to high standard. Farmhouse kitchen with living/dining area plus further living room and dining room. Farm outbuildings currently used for poultry, totalling 85,500ft2 .