We have seen many different kinds of conversions come sliding across the Country Life Property Desk desk. Typically they are barns. I grew up in a barn conversion, so I have a soft spot for them, even though our great lord and saviour Nicky Haslam has now decided that they are common. He gets everyone eventually.
Churches, windmills, watermills, courthouses, old post offices, schoolhouses, water towers, lighthouses and so on. If it is a building, it can be converted. If you stand still long enough, it is very likely that Kevin McCloud and whichever hapless couple is on the brink of a divorce will come and convert you into a house. It seems odd, then, that it has taken so long for me to come across a converted bank. After all, they are on most high streets. And yet!
But now I have one. Or at least have seen one. It’s in Shipston-on-Stour, predictably on the High Street (where banks live), and offers four bedrooms. It is for sale with Hamptons for offers in excess of £900,000.
I like Shipston-on-Stour. I went there once, a few years ago. It’s pretty. It’s in the Cotswolds, but not the bit that everyone hates. It has lots of nice pubs and good shops. And a river. It’s about as English a town as you could hope to ever find. This house is bang in the middle of it.
As discussed, it used to be a bank. Banks come with vaults, traditionally, and this home is no different, except the vault is used for storing wine rather than gold or coins. The renovation of this home, the name of which I cannot find, was undertaken by the current owners, who have created a terrific blend of historic character and modern convenience.
That character shines through in the details of the interiors, and also their layout. The property, on the market for less than £1 million, offers a large kitchen/breakfast room with island, a ‘retail space’, a vault/wine store, utility room, office, home gym, library, family/garden room. All of which are on the ground floor.
On the first floor, you’ll find two bedrooms, a vast bathroom, a drawing room, and a study, with two further bedrooms on the second floor. Outside, a coach house offers additional storage space in the walled garden. A reminder that this house is in the heart of one of the Cotswolds’ best towns.
This bank, the first that I’ve seen, is very worthy of joining the pantheon of great conversions. May we endeavour to see more.
A country house which blends the best of England, Scotland, Italy and France, with 'views to die for', and an easy commute to Edinburgh
Grey Peel is the sort of country home which makes you wonder why anyone lives in the city. Penny Churchill
-
An utterly charming island home in Scotland with gardens so beautiful they made the cover of Country LifeAn Cala on the Isle of Seil has a fascinating history that is only enhanced by its amazing setting.
-
The legacy od Dad's ArmyKate Green takes a look at Dad’s Army, the iconic BBC sitcom written by David Croft and Jimmy Perry.
-
An utterly charming island home in Scotland with gardens so beautiful they made the cover of Country Life
An Cala on the Isle of Seil has a fascinating history that is only enhanced by its amazing setting.
-
Soft tones and a sense of place: A Mayfair duplex that breaks the modern mouldA new designer-led residence at 60 Curzon in Mayfair reminds us that everything new doesn't necessarily have to look it.
-
'The very best North Yorkshire has to offer': The £25 million Kirkham EstateWith 1,103 acres and on the market for the first time in a century, we've got a new frontrunner for the sale of the year.
-
The reality of 20 years of house price rises in Britain, from the places that have had a charmed life to the spots where it's a struggle to move back homeAt first glance the ups and downs of the property market seem to even out over time — but dig in to the numbers and you'll see wild regional variations which paint a very difference picture. Annabel Dixon analyses new research which tells the story.
-
A historic Yorkshire hall, meticulously restored to its former 18th-century magnificenceWomersley Park is a masterpiece and one of Yorkshire's great historic houses. And it could be yours.
-
Rowing past dreams: An idyllic riverside home with a boathouse, croquet pitch and Olympic pedigreeThe Manor in Long Wittenham is a perfect Thames-side getaway. Comes with a free boat.
-
A bucolic Sussex home that's 'like stepping into a fairytale', yet just 30 minutes from central LondonFelmere House is a playground for nature and only 30 minutes from London.
-
Magnificent mansions across the Home Counties, from £3 million to £14 million, as seen in Country LifeA waterside dream home and a house and estate with over 1,100 years of history make our round-up this week.
