EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW AND PHOTOS
There’s something timelessly magical about James and Sophie Perkins’s home, Parnham Park. Hidden away in a dreamy corner of Dorset, the elegant Elizabethan mansion lies in its own secluded valley, where a lake shimmers beneath ancient trees and white deer roam.
It’s hard to believe that this idyllic scene was violently disturbed just seven years ago, when a suspected arson attack resulted in the house being engulfed in flames.
Happily, Parnham is rising phoenix-like from the ashes. Although the roof and interior were destroyed, the honey-tinted local stone of the walls withstood the blaze – and that’s when James, 55, and Sophie, 37, stepped in to acquire the estate, determined to restore it to its former glory and ensure its future survival.
Entrepreneur James has established quite a track record of restoring historic properties, his most ambitious project being the couple’s 17th-century former home, 40-bedroom Aynhoe Park in Northamptonshire. Their other passions, for collecting and nature conservation, are very much complementary. Parnham is the perfect place to showcase their holdings of everything from ostrichfeather lamps to old masters, while its vast grounds are a haven for a host of animal and plant species.
And naturally, the couple’s three children – Beau, 16, Lyon, 11, and Luna, eight – couldn’t be happier. With something fascinating to discover at every turn, Parnham is a playground filled with adventure.
James, tell us about your background…
“I grew up in Gloucestershire, in a family that takes a lot of inspiration from my mother Sally. She owned fashion boutiques and is a very talented flower arranger; I inherited my creative streak from her.”
How long have you been a collector?
“Since I was 14, when I attended my first auction with my mother. I was captivated by the possibility of buying lost treasures and reimagin
