American-born Allison Ilsley has swapped a career on stage in New York for life in a quiet riverside Essex village, creating a traditional English country home and garden to match
FEATURE KAY PRESTNEY PHOTOGRAPHY BRENT DARBY
Allison Ilsley, and her husband, Richard, a management consultant and ultra-walker, have lived a global life in Chicago and London. However, their latest move proved rather shorter than their previous trans-Atlantic journeys. “We had been living in a lovely Grade II listed cottage on the far side of our village, in the pretty Dedham vale, but with two young sons – Alex and Rowan, then three and five – we decided we needed more space and a bigger garden,” explains Allison.
Their five-bedroom family home used to be the staff quarters of a large red-brick Grade II listed Georgian manor house which dates back to 1740. In the mid-19th century, the building was divided into three separate dwellings and Allison and Richard’s property lies beyond a bricked portico entrance that historically allowed horses to enter the yard. “I love the sense of history that we enjoy living with here. There is so much character to the building and returning home always feels a little like stepping back in time,” says Allison. One of its most interesting previous residents was the former High Commissioner of Delhi, who had the wooden floors taken up and flagstones laid throughout the main house for fear of termites eating the wood. The house has also been immortalised in a painting by famous local artist John Constable, entitled Dedham Church and Vale.
A box of delights, the house is reached through the garden and a series of arches and porches that lend it a cottage-like feel, yet, once inside, it opens into generously proportioned Georgian rooms. Large windows offer beautiful views of either the walled garden or the surrounding countryside, each alive with flora and fauna regardless of the season.
Moving in 15 years ago, the couple found the house was dated both in terms of decor and functionality – their priority was linking the property to mains water. “We were on a borehole water supply, which had stained the bathroom suite and lacked the pressure for a dishwasher or proper shower. It was a big expense, but life-changing when we had two small boys who spent all day getting dirty in the exciting new gar
