Without wishing to completely shatter the fourth wall, the property I’m about to describe to you was described to me as ‘a wreck’.
‘Would you write up that wreck please James’ came the instruction from on high, and I was intrigued. What was I to be confronted with? Some shattered old barn, full-to-bursting with cobwebs and cowdung? Half a windmill? A bomb shelter?
That’s the joy of the phrase wreck — it can mean so many things. Without sounding too much like Alan Partridge (‘What’s your favourite type of wreck? Ship, train or emotional?’) wrecks come in many shapes and sizes. What I would argue, however, is that Grade II-listed Homebush Cottage is not a wreck.
Up for auction with Symonds and Sampson on May 16, for a guide price of £250,000, this property might be one of the most elegant and charming homes to ever receive the label ‘wreck’. I mean just look at those local rubble-stone walls, the mullion windows and tiled roof.
So what if it has holes in the roof and also probably no floors or interiors (I can’t actually find any pictures of the interior, so who knows), the essence of greatness is here. And from the essence, you could create excellence (with the necessary consents).
Originally dating from the 17th century, the cottage is nestled at the end of a track and surrounded by its former gardens and orchard (which also need renovating). In total, the property comes with 11.75 acres of gardens and ground on the edge of the hamlet of Watchcombe in the East Devon AONB.
The nearby town of Colyton boasts a town hall, shops, post office and primary school, while the market town of Honiton is some five miles away, with further amenities and a mainline connection to London Waterloo.
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