Hide away at house with secret past

An historic country home fit for a king – Liz Rowley takes a look around Blackwood Hill Farm, a Grade II listed residence dating back to the 15th century

B LACKWOOD Hill Farm, situated on the outskirts of Endon, is a house with a split personality. On the outside it's everything a picturesque country house should be, with outhouses, stables and 10 acres of land.

But it's the inside which reveals its true history, with a wealth of 15th century features which remain to this day.

Home to Lynda and John Worthington for the past six years, stepping into Blackwood Hill Farm is like stepping back in time – and Lynda wouldn't have it any other way.

"We weren't actually looking for a farm," she says, "but once we'd seen this we both fell in love with it straight away.

"But it was in desperate need of work. All of the wooden beams upstairs were covered in wallpaper and outside was just like a silage pit.

"So the work has been ongoing since we moved in, but the original features were so beautiful that it was well worth doing."

Although the date 1698 can be seen above the front entrance, this Grade II listed property, the oldest in the borough, is thought to date back to the 1400s and offers everything the images of that period conjure up.

A wealth of exposed beams and timbers can be found in most of the rooms, and cosy open fires provide warmth to the lounge and dining room.

The three bedrooms are regal and defined with many period features, and the fact that the original priest hole is still in place adds a little extra magic to the home.

"The beams and walls were already revealed downstairs so we didn't have to do much to the lounge and dining room," says Lynda, a keen horsewoman who owns two mares and a foal.

"We did expose one of the walls in the lounge because it was covered up and we also added a solid oak floor.

"Other than that it wasn't too hard to keep the character in place."

But Lynda admits that the biggest chore was developing the small country kitchen into a welcoming breakfast room.

This is now the hub of the house.

"The kitchen was only very tiny when we moved in and it's definitely been the biggest thing we have done to the house," she explains.

Considering that John and Lynda rarely use the front entrance leading to the lounge and dining room, it's vital that the kitchen, entered directly from the back door, creates an inviting atmosphere.

And this is exactly what they have achieved.

"I spend a lot of time outside with the horses so it's lovely to come into a warm kitchen – and that's thanks to the four-oven Aga which will be staying with the house when we leave.

"The house is really cosy and I've felt at home here since we first moved in," she continues.

Lynda is now looking forward to moving back to Yorkshire with John to be closer to her friends and family.

"The landing is my favourite part, with the original banister and the extra window look out on to fields," she adds, "but it's just an incredible place to live."

It's fair to say that the whole of Blackwood Hill Farm is impressive, but upstairs is something extra special.

The dark wooden beams which line the walls and ceilings of the landing and three bedrooms, in addition to the exposed floorboards, would be a perfect setting for a Shakespearean play, while the tiny door leading to the third bedroom conjures up images of Alice In Wonderland.

"Children think this door is a door to a cupboard, so it's just like magic when they open it and peep into a full-size bedroom. People just don't expect it," says Lynda.

As with all the other rooms, each of the three bedrooms (not to mention the attic and cellar) reflect the degree of care which has been taken with this house.

The master bedroom still contains the original exposed timber lintels as well as a feature stone fireplace set on a stone flagged hearth, while the second bedroom has access to the eerie priest hole that was originally covered in plaster.

"When we moved in we got people to come and quote us for plastering upstairs, but they wanted to put plasterboard up and cover the walls," explains Lynda.

"But the walls are too beautiful to have done that, and we had in mind that we wanted it to look like wattle and daub, so we abandoned that and did it ourselves."

Away from the bedrooms, Blackwood Hill Farm has both a good-sized family bathroom and separate shower room in keeping with the rest of the property.

It also reaps the benefits of 10 acres of land, as well as a selection of stone outbuildings and modern agricultural buildings.

There is even a menage for those interested in the equestrian life.

"I'll be sad to leave because I've enjoyed living here," concludes Lynda, "but it's a great family home and I'm sure the next people who live here will enjoy everything it has to offer."

Blackwood Hill Farm is a large Grade II listed farmhouse situated on the outskirts of Endon just one-and-a-half miles from Horton. It briefly comprises of three bedrooms, a breakfast kitchen, lounge, dining room, shower room, family bathroom, attic and cellar, a range of stone outhouses, modern agricultural buildings, menage, lunging ring and paddock which extends to a total of about 10 acres of land.