Valentine Sabin and her husband Allan fell in love with a little cottage that has designs on being a castle, and together they restored its unique features and enhanced its hillside setting
Valentine and Allan didn’t mean to buy a small castle; in fact, they weren’t quite sure what they were looking for when they started house hunting in Cumbria. However, when they happened upon The Howgills, a group of grassy fells between Sedbergh and Ravenstonedale, they knew they had found the right spot. It was just a case of finding the right cottage.
‘We left touristy Cornwall behind us to return to Allan’s roots in Cumbria,’ says Valentine. ‘Neither of us had been here before,’ she continues. ‘We stayed at a B&B near Sedbergh, and on our first night we visited the adjacent churchyard, only to find it full of Woofs -Allan’s family name. Feeling it was a sign, we trawled local estate agents and spotted an unusual cottage.’
Situated up a rough track, the cottage is certainly special. A rounded ‘turret’ is the first thing you see, followed by the most beautiful, weathered front door, and a magnificent arched window. The house dates back to the 1700s, and it is believed that renovations were made in 1869, as that is the date carved into the stone above the door by local builders.
‘The house features some amazing carpentry,’ says Valentine. ‘For instance, the window frames are very ornately carved – they are known as “galleon” frames. We did some research and discovered that the builder responsible for the renovations in 1869 was Thomas Hewitson, a local man known for his eccentric style.’
There was plenty of work to do, however, including correcting the many incongruous alterations that had been made to the property over the years. ‘There were some unpleasant 1980s details – adark utility room that cut the kitchen in half; lino everywhere; a fake stone fireplace and varnished green and brown wood chevron boards in the kitchen,’ says Valentine. ‘Thankfully, the extraordinary carpentry in the rest of the house was untouched and in
