For Sale: Inside a renovated chocolate box cottage in the Cotswolds
Fancy living in a beautiful cabin-come-cottage in the woods? This picture-perfect three-bedroom home in the village of Chilson, the Cotswolds, is up for sale.
Home to journalist Alice B-B and her partner, the property has been lovingly renovated and offers a well-proportioned living space arranged over two floors, with dual aspect rooms, floods of light and superb ceiling height.
Alice bought Yew Tree Cottage 12 years ago, and it's clear that she's cherished her time there. 'My partner and I could tell that it was a special house in a special spot in a special village. However, it needed a lot of work to make it a house that was right for us,' says Alice. 'It was hard to get our heads round it at first as there were lots of small rooms and a stair lift. But we knew it was the one, it had "that" feeling. Something a bit magical.'
The couple put a lot of their heart, time and energy into making this chocolate box cottage feel like their own. 'We spent around six months renovating the property. We moved the staircase and totally reconfigured the space. My favourite part of taking on an old property was figuring out how to make it work for me, my partner, our dog Betty and our friends and family who come and stay,' she says.
'It originally had five small bedrooms, but we decided to make it three big generous bedrooms, each with an ensuite bathroom. We merged three rooms on the ground floor to make a lovely big open-plan kitchen, eating, sitting area, with a fireplace at one end to be cosy in winter and two sets of French windows at the other end for flinging open in summer for breakfast while listening to the birds or a barbecue lunch. A storeroom became a handsome downstairs cloakroom and we also created a wood panelled office.'
As any good renovator should, Alice let the cottage lead the way in choosing how to decorate. 'As we were doing the work, including pushing up into the eaves to create volume, we realised that it felt more and more like a magical cabin in the woods – so we decided to go with that feeling and clad the walls in wood which gives it lots of interest and detail for the eye to play with instead of just painted walls,' she says.
'The wood cladding makes it feel cosy in winter but cool in summer. I also love that we fitted underfloor heating in the kitchen, there's nothing like padding around and feeling the warmth underfoot. We fitted an Aga which is the most chilled and joyous way to cook. Even boiling a kettle or making toast on the Aga becomes a meditation of sorts.'
This wonderful meditative feeling of the cottage is also brought on by the nature that surrounds it. 'The Cottage is right on the edge of the village and the garden wraps around it, so you really feel immersed in nature,' says Alice. 'The proud new owner of this home will see into the blackbird's nest from the bedroom window or spot a baby roe deer drinking from the stream from the bathroom, or watch the increasingly rare water voles scamper about or also increasingly rare Mrs Hedgehog snuffling about for witchetty grubs at dusk.
'Whenever we arrive at Yew Tree Cottage, we feel so happy and lucky to be there. I love opening the curtains in the morning and seeing the sun rise golden over the hill. There are no streetlights in the village – so the stars at night are insanely bright and beautiful.'
All of this beckons the question, why on earth would Alice and her partner want to move house? 'We are sadly selling because we both need to be in London and we're both working abroad a lot more. It has been the happiest home and was the most peaceful haven during the pandemic.'
Before Alice made it her dream home, the house was lived in by Sir Patrick and Penny Nairne. Sir Patrick was a senior British civil servant who started his career in the Admiralty, eventually becoming the permanent secretary of the Department of Health and Social Security and Master of St Catherine's College, Oxford. According to Alice, his line of work is the reason why the front door has no letter box – she believed the couple were worried about letter bombs.
Elizabeth D’Allemagne, partner at estate agent Butler Sherborn, describes Yew Tree Cottage as an 'enchanting and entirely unique gem' that's been renovated and remodelled to the highest standard.
Alice and her partner starting a new chapter in London means that someone else can benefit from this special cottage, as well as all of the work, time and love that Alice has put into it. Beyond the gardens, Chilson is an authentic Cotswold village tucked away yet it's within easy reach of some of the most sought-after north Cotswold destinations. Neighbouring Charlbury is a popular town that's just a short drive away and has a mainline station to Paddington.
This property is currently on the market for £1,750,000 with Butler Sherborn.
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