ESSEX FARMHOUSE
Crooked ceilings and wonky floors, not to mention original wooden beams and iron-studded doors, are all part of the appeal of Jo and David Cox’s 16th-century farmhouse
V blockiewing the 16th-century farmhouse in a quiet country lane, Jo Cox felt as though she’d stepped into another world, despite it being only half a mile away from her home. ‘I’ll never forget that feeling of excitement when I pushed open the gate in the middle of the beech hedge,’ Jo recalls. ‘Seconds later, I caught sight of the old farmhouse and was entranced.’
Back in 2017, Jo and her family had been living in Brentwood, Essex. ‘My husband, David, and I had done quite a lot of work to that house, but since moving there, I’d developed a passion for growing flowers and vegetables, and I yearned for a larger garden and an older property,’ she reveals. ‘We were also keen to live somewhere more rural and peaceful.’
While David was browsing property sites, he noticed the pink, timber-framed farmhouse, set in six acres, complete with mature gardens and a stable block. ‘Properties like this don’t come to the market very often around here and, although the amount of work needed was daunting, we could see the potential,’ says Jo. ‘Every room was bursting with period features and charming touches, such as the inglenook fireplaces. The contours of the ceilings mirrored those of the floors above, and the fact that nothing was straight added to the sense of being immersed in the house’s history.’
Clinching the deal, the Cox family moved in during 2018 and applied for planning permission to convert the stable into an annexe, where they would live during the renovation of the farmhouse. While this application was going through, Jo and David met with conservationist and heritage consultant Ian Alderton, of Architectural Management, who helped them draw up plans for the house and the kitchen extension. He also recommended Bakers of Danbury – specialists in renovating historic buildings. ‘This was fortuitous as, despite having a survey, there were various surprises that cropped up during the year-long project, including having to underpin many of the structural walls,’ says Jo. ‘The builders were excellent and, thankfully, we had provision for the unexpected finds in our contingency budget.’
Long before the building work began, in April 2021, Jo had contacted Essex-based interior designer Claire Orders to ask her to help update the property. Her goal was to introduce pattern, colour and texture that would accentuate the period features and make each space sing. ‘This was a dream project, particularly as my design aesthetic leans towards traditional country-hou
