Forced out of their ancestral home in Staffordshire, Jo, Henry, their two young daughters and Henry's parents searched the length and breadth of the UK, viewing 15 farms in total, before eventually finding a place to settle at Anthology Farm in the Cotswolds.
“The barns were built in 1740 using traditional Cotswold stone from the mines opposite. Their original use would have been agricultural, built to store grain harvested on the farm from the surrounding fields, facing East to West with slit openings to let the prevailing wind in to dry and preserve the grains,” says Jo.
“In the 1980s the barns were then converted into offices, but when we purchased them in 2016 we lovingly converted them into the fabulous space that you see here now.”
There were many features about Anthology Farm which made Jo and her husband fall in love with it, but the huge arched window set into the end wall which looks out across the grounds remains one of the most impressive to the couple - one that had them in awe on their first viewing.
“There really is a sense of adventure for the children. There are fairy trails, caves, woods and streams. We really want our guests to feel like they venture where they want.” Henry adds. The family took up residence in the main farmhouse, but had bigger plans for two of the large separate barns.
However, gaining the necessary planning permission to convert such listed farm buildings into domestic properties and then resurrecting these ancient barns was, “A bit of a challenge,” Jo goes on to say. “There’s two kitchens, eight bathrooms, two lounge rooms and nine bedrooms so it was a huge job!” The family enlisted the expertise of London design house Run for the Hills. Their brief was to create a welcome shelter that would pamper guests even in the coldest, darkest winters. In fleshing out the bones of these imposing buildings they created atmospheric bedrooms, stylish social spaces and cosy nooks at every turn - not to mention the pool house and soon-to-be events barn, which is the latest chapter of Anthology Farm.
In spite of the obstacles faced by this farming family, they are clearly delighted with their decision to take on a large renovation project whilst simultaneously raising a young family, “I could just sit there for hours looking at the expanse of rolling hills up through the valley,” Jo says happily.
