‘this house will change our lives’

For more than 20 years, John and Helen Worboys lived in a picturesque 17th-century farmhouse with 40 acres of land, but unfortunately five years ago Helen suffered a stroke that affected her mobility and speech, and the house was no longer suitable for their needs. ‘It just wasn’t easily adaptable,’ explains John. ‘I converted one of the barns and spent my time between the two buildings, carrying Helen’s meals across the farmyard on a tray, but it was no way to live.’

In 2019, John spotted a bungalow for sale on the outskirts of their village in Bedfordshire. ‘It was shabby, but had a glorious two-acre plot,’ he says. ‘I realised I could buy it, knock it down and replace it with something designed especially for us.’ A trained building surveyor, John had previously worked on projects with his property developer son Ollie, so felt well-equipped to take on the challenge and contacted architect James Arkle of ArkleBoyce to talk through some ideas.

The design that immediately appealed to the couple was a pavilion-style house with lots of floor-to-ceiling glazing so that Helen could enjoy views of the garden. James’s design organised the spaces in a T shape that’s mainly on one level, with every element designed to make the couple’s life easier.

The open-plan, ground-floor living area and two bedrooms are arranged in a line facing south, with John’s office on the first floor and a car port and self-contained apartment to the north, plus a gym and wine cellar in the basement. There are lots of unique design features throughout the house, such as lower-height kitchen surfaces, cement floors throughout to allow Helen’s wheelchair to move around smoothly, a hi-tech heating and lighting system, and all the internal doors are held open by magnets that will close automatically in the event of a fire.

Work began on the build in autumn 2020, with son Ollie as project manager, but the couple encountered lots of unforeseen problems that pushed the estimated 16-month build back by eight months. The problems started with defects in the cement, which had to be repoured and overlooked by a specialist, then an alarming setback occurred when sections of the steel frame began to