A lesson in style

The ground floor is entirely open plan, with a kitchen and pantry at one end, dining area in the middle and sitting room at the other. To zone this multi-functional room the couple have chosen furnishings that work comfortably within the entire living space. In the kitchen area they have customised a pair of Georgian oak wardrobes (either side of the range cooker) for storage, and fitted an old haberdashery unit with a granite top to create an island.

History is woven into the ancient Cotswolds village of Broadway, where a settlement is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086.

Later, the region’s thriving wool and cloth industry brought great wealth to its merchants, who built their houses either side of the wide thoroughfare from which the village takes its name. Turn down a narrow alleyway leading from the main street, and you will find an unobtrusive little building that has borne witness to all of this and more over the centuries. ‘There was an ancient chapel on this site,’ explains Gareth Cooper-Prentice, who lives here with his husband, Crawford, ‘but the bones of the building date back to the 1700s, when a Methodist church was established here. Later, in 1846, it became a schoolhouse for a number of years, so it really was an integral part of local life.’

Sadly, the property fell into major disrepair during the last century and little more than a few exterior walls remained. In the 1980s it was the subject of a compulsory purchase order and bought by a developer, who undertook a sympathetic renovation of the exterior. By the time Gareth and Crawford became aware of the property in 2001, it was a solicitor’s office, with a longstanding tenant in a flat above. ‘When we discovered the entire building was for sale, we decided it was worth the investment: the terms of the sale, however, meant we did so with the tenants in situ, so for many years we were simply landlords. We had to play the long game! We loved it, but continued to hope we could make the entire property into one home at some point.’

Finally, a few years ago, when the couple were based on Jersey, they obtained planning permission to turn the entire property into one, and could put their plans into action at last. ‘We knew exactly what we wanted to do – we’d spent