The comforts of an elegantly restored cottage

Rose Cottage in Ambler Thorn ticked every box on his wish list, but it wasn’t without its problems.

“I was attracted to it by the location. It was just what I was looking for. The house had been neglected since the owner died, and the inside was stuck in the 1970s, when the cottage – built just before 1900 – was converted, renovated and extended from two homes into one.”

This is a deceptive home from the outside, but it is quite substantial with a possible four bedrooms, two reception rooms, a gravelled drive to the side which can easily accommodate a large number of vehicles, and a garage which has been enlarged to accommodate a workshop.

It may be semi-rural, but you’re hardly cut off from civilisation with Queensbury within easy reach.

Paul called in a builder to do the major work before he took over and got on with it himself. The work included re-wiring, re-plumbing and re-plastering top to bottom, floors were stripped or replaced and the chimney breasts revealed.

“It took two years altogether and I had one room that was liveable, and half a bathroom. You could say it was an interesting experience, but I would do it again,” he said.

Since moving in, Paul has acquired a wife and a young son, but despite the hard work he’s told his wife he has two more builds in him.

“We’ve tried to keep as many features as possible, and even restored some, like the fireplaces which were all blocked in. You couldn’t guess just how many skips it took to get rid of all the bricks,” Paul says.

“The fires had the original cast iron cookers built in, but after being bricked up for so long they were too far gone to save. We have replaced them with three wood burning stoves, which are great.”

Paul’s hard work and his wife’s deft touch with the interior has resulted in a cosy and spacious home. On the ground floor is a reception hall with wooden floor, through lounge with cast iron open feature fireplace on a granite hearth, dining room featuring the original cast iron open fireplace with slate surround and period decorative tiles, plus the original stripped wooden floor, and a kitchen with slate floor with underfloor heating, and a pot-bellied, multi-fuel stove in a chimney recess with exposed stonework and lintel.

“The lounge is my favourite room, because it’s a good size. You can have a lot of friends round and it doesn’t feel cramped.”

Also on the ground floor is the master bedroom, with the original stripped wooden floor and a feature wooden fireplace and chimney breast, and a bathroom. The latter is a spacious room with a white three-piece suite, electric underfloor heating and an open chimney breast.

Finally on this level is a utility room with stable door to the rear of the cottage and a shower room with corner cubicle, tiled floor, wooden console with storage and a round basin with monobloc tap and ceiling lights.

Upstairs, there are two more bedrooms, one accessed by its own separate wooden staircase from the dining room. This bedroom has exposed stone walling, stripped beams, an additional roof light and a laminate floor.

The third bedroom, with dormer window and additional roof light, also has revealed chimney stonework and ceiling beams and a further interlinking bedroom which is similar to bedroom three.

The upstairs wasn’t without its problems for Paul, either.

“The whole loft area was used as storage, and the floor wasn’t reinforced, so we had to do that; and there was so much wallpaper that we had to take the space back to the laths.”

Despite all their hard work, the family is looking to move to the Aire Valley, closer to where Paul’s wife has her own business.

“I’m really going to miss the seclusion,” Paul adds. “It’s away from work and the stresses of everyday life, and you can never grow tired of the glorious views at the front towards Wakefield and Sowerby.”

Rose Cottage, Priestley Hill, Ambler Thorn, Queensbury. Price: £219,950. Agent: Charles Walker, Queensbury (01274) 814348.