Return To Its Roots

A couple with a keen eye for design describe how they senstively restored Tarleton’s oldest house.

- Rebekka O’Grady

‘THIS is a house for life. It has been a financial, physical and emotional investment, so we plan on staying here. I think it has been the most challenging but also the most rewarding project I have worked on so far,’ explained Paul Davenport from the cosy dining room of his 17th century home.

He and his partner Lorraine have lived at Gatcliffe Farmhouse since February 2016. The couple has vast experience of purchasing houses, renovating and selling them on, so when the opportunity arose to breathe life back into the oldest house in Tarleton, it was something the couple couldn’t refuse.

‘One of my passions is bird watching and I regularly visit Hesketh Out Marsh. I would drive past Gatcliffe on the way there and kept thinking about how long it had been on the market. Eventually

we struck a deal and moved in,’ said Paul, pictured right. ‘The house was built in 1605, the year of the gunpowder plot and when Shakespeare was very much in his heyday. It’s incredible to think of how many people have walked through here – and that’s why I wanted to keep the original floors upstairs. You just can’t wipe away that history.’

Paul and Lorraine have maintained a great deal of the property’s unique charm and character. Grade II listed and within the centre of the village’s conservation area, there was a limit to how much the couple could do within the renovation, but with the input from a West Lancashire heritage officer, the end results are breathtaking.