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Neuigkeiten von Broxmouth Park |
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Aktueller Zeitungsartikel im 'The Scotsman' am 14.10.2006
To the manor reborn
| FINDING one original Victorian canopy bath in a house would be considered unusual - after all these styles, complete with body jets and giant "rainbath" shower heads, are a rarity - so to find three, each picked up from architectural salvage yards and reconditioned back to full working order, is virtually unheard of.
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But then that is typical of Broxmouth Park, which is situated just outside Dunbar in East Lothian. From the woodland walks - the 18th century estate includes 150 acres of land - and the three-acre trout lake where owners Simon and Susan Flame's six-year-old son Sebastian has been learning to fly fish this summer, to the Georgian house itself, Broxmouth has been dramatically transformed since the couple bought it three years ago.
The history of the £7 million estate is intriguing. Broxmouth House was designed by James Nisbet of Kelso for the Duke of Roxburghe in about 1775, and stands near the site of the 1650 Battle of Dunbar, when an earlier house on the site was used by Oliver Cromwell as his battle headquarters. Standing at the French windows in the dining room, Simon points out "Cromwell's Mount" in the gardens directly opposite, from where Cromwell apparently watched Leslie's army descend from Doon Hill. Queen Victoria also visited the house in August 1878 and planted the impressive cedar tree on the front lawn, and her diary entries from the time reflect on the park's "noble trees and avenues".
Noble is a good word for Broxmouth House itself, although for all its grandeur - and it is grand, with three public rooms including a stunning south-facing drawing room that's flooded in light, nine en suite bedrooms, a billiard room and media room with home cinema - it has been designed by Susan and Simon with the informal comfort you'd expect from a family home. Which Sebastian and his four-year-old sister Arabella prove as they gallop around it.
Yet Broxmouth Park is also more than a home, as the house and estate, which opened for business last month, are available for private hire, whether for weddings and private parties or corporate events. The couple own the development and investment company Flame Estates, which they set up in 2001. Susan comes from a background in marketing and communications, while chartered accountant Simon has led a successful international career. The pair specialise in the renovation and conversion of period buildings in London and the north-west of England. Some properties are developed to sell, others to rent. The catalyst for the business was the couple's own 17th century house in Chester, which they bought and renovated eight years ago.
"We both have an eye for period buildings," says Simon. "Our own house was a lot of fun to renovate, and it spiralled from there."
Broxmouth Park is their first project in Scotland, and the couple came to view the property while in Edinburgh for the festival three years ago. They were so impressed that Simon made the previous owners an offer there and then.
"It was more than a blank canvas at the time; it was already a fantastic building," he recalls, referring to the exquisite level of period detailing. "But it was about taking that to another level and creating this utopian building."
The interior styling is Susan's domain. If working on the couple's own house "ignited my passion for interiors", as she says, this project gave her the scope to think big and bold. There are beautiful antiques, picked up at sales rooms and auctions all over the country, such as the late 19th century dining table or the Spanish tapestries from Christie's. Other pieces, like the huge intricately carved beds by the Somerset-based Crown Guild of Master Carvers, which echo originals from the 16th and 17th centuries, have been made for the house. The antique chandeliers, meanwhile, were sourced from Italy and France and renovated by David O'Keefe, a contact of the couple's from Chester, in a process that took the best part of a year.
Susan sourced the fabrics throughout from the GP&J Baker Group, which includes Mulberry Home, Lee Jofa and Parkertex. The resulting inspired combinations are clear for all to see. In the drawing room, for example, the sofa is upholstered in a silk jacquard version of a 1930s print, complete with finely embroidered birds and butterflies, while the armchairs are upholstered in Foxslub Velvet from Mulberry's new autumn collection, which adds a subtle retro feel.
And if your jaw hasn't dropped by this stage, it will in the dining room, where Susan wanted to pull in the greenery of the gardens when choosing the printed wallpaper by Lewis & Wood, which is complemented by the elegance of the Perandor Damask Stripe silk curtains.
"It was fun peeling things back and discovering the house again," she says. The original floorboards were unearthed below the old carpets, as were the flagstones in the expansive entrance and hallway and the dark finish of the timber - like the mellow Farrow & Ball wall colours - has helped restore the house to how it would once have looked.
The couple drew on their own experiences of travelling in understanding guests' needs, hence the media room for rainy days or chilly evenings, with the shutters snugly closed against the elements. "In places we've stayed, we've found that one or two people get a spectacular bedroom but the others are standard," says Susan, so here no bedroom or bathroom feels like a compromise, whether you have a four-poster bed and a mahogany canopy bath or a striking mosaic-clad en suite.
And it's not just about the house: you can walk to the beach, and there's Dunbar East Links, which is accessed from the grounds, should you fancy a round of golf.
Work on the estate hasn't finished yet as the couple are developing the West Lodge, along with three mews cottages that are being converted from the former steadings; the Boathouse beside the lake (great for honeymooners or smaller corporate events) and the Orangerie housing a swimming pool and spa. There's also The Bridge House, which is already complete, and by autumn next year the estate will accommodate up to 58 guests.
"I'd love to live in this house," Susan says, and maybe one day the family will. "We think it's unique," Simon adds. "This is a flagship project for our business, but it's also something personal. We get a lot of pleasure in renovating a property like this."
Weitere deutschsprachige Informationen zu
Broxmouth Park finden Sie unter:
http://www.pro-tour.info/broxmouthpark.htm
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