CEO TRAVEL & LIFESTYLE GUIDE 84 3 4 Be aware of building’s listed status, and any restrictions or special permissions needed to make changes Before buying a mansion like Huntsham Court, you need to learn its history and any restrictions or special considerations which apply to it. Huntsham Court has Grade II Listed Building status; there were certain things we had to adhere to during renovations and changes we aren’t able to make. If your dream is to add certain features to a property, ensure this is actually feasible before jumping in. For us, we very much wanted to keep the original character of the house and thankfully this desire matched with the requirements of the house - much of Huntsham Court’s interior is specially protected, such as the hand muraled ceiling in the Drawing Room and the Jacobean Paneling. It is an honour to own such a building but a huge challenge to do right by it - making it your own whilst ensuring you are a faithful custodian of its history and regulations can be a balancing act but it’s a rewarding one! Restoration can’t be rushed While restoring a property of this size will always be costly and time consuming, it is important it is done correctly. For instance, at Huntsham Court the plumbing system was first engineered 150 years ago, so sorting the heating, plumbing and electrics was a massive project we had to tackle - the house now has a total of 40 bedrooms, the vast majority with an ensuite. Restoration is a long project, not a quick fix and you’ll learn that you can’t sweat the small stuff. It is a labour of love and big old houses know how to take your money - the house has thousands of metres of curtaining, 98 individual shutters, and we have brought in 67 sofas. So, you need to learn how to ‘un-see’ minor imperfections. Namely, if you walk through the building to inspect a crumbling ceiling, don’t inspect everything enroute as all you will see is problems, and it can quickly feel a little like you are facing a mountain.
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