A fine malt

Nestled deep in a lush Wiltshire valley, the 17th-century malthouse is a solid reminder of the industry that once thrived in this region. Built from local Chilmark stone, the property – thought to be the oldest house in the village – has been noted for its precise stonemasonry.

Designer Peter Ellis readily admits that he and his partner, Hamish Davies, did not have especially high hopes when they decided to view the 400-year-old Wiltshire malthouse that is now their home. ‘When we first saw the details, we thought it might be a bit too ‘beamy’ and traditional for our tastes,’ Peter laughs. But, intrigued by the garden, they decided to take a look, viewing the house on a chilly Friday in January five years ago. ‘A fire crackled in the grate, there was bread baking in the Aga, and the whole house had such a welcoming feel,’ Peter recalls, adding that their doubts about the beams were dismissed in the face of all the historic details and the ‘higgledy-piggledy layout’, which they loved. Within weeks, the deal was done and the pair had moved in.

Settled deep in Wiltshire’s undulating valleys, the building, a former malthouse, dates back to the 1640s and is filled with architectural details relating to its early history, such as the tall window on the upper storey, which would once have been used for accessing the grain store. The beamed entrance hall and reception room with its vast inglenook fireplace and flagstones form the original heart of the house, while a heavy oak door above a worn stone step leads to the vaulted kitchen at the back – this was, Peter guesses, where an outside barn probably once stood. The far end of the house, meanwhile, was added about 30 years ago by the previous owners, and an elegant library now stands in place of what was once the stables and yard.

‘We don’t have any detailed records about the house, unfortunately,’ Peter explains. ‘Before the last people bought it, it had been in the same family for more than 200 years, but had fallen to rack and ruin: an old farmer nearby recalls the garden being full of broken cars and farm machinery. There was even an outside privy by the front door.’ Sadly, none of the historic documents were passed on, so certain elements remain a mystery. ‘Like a lot of old properties, features were added or altered over the centuries,’ says Peter. ‘The original bones of the building are o