Provincial CHARM

Rescuing and restoring old French houses is a passion of interior designer Gerard Conway, as Johanna Thornycroft discovers

- Johanna Thornycroft

For decades, British holidaymakers have disembarked at the French Channel ports in a frantic dash to the sunny south, with barely a glance or a detour east of the routes to the Loire and beyond. Perhaps the only diversion was a quick visit to the battlefields of the Somme; the imposing monuments and tragically vast number of First and Second World War graves was often all that most people saw.

Reputedly, some 500,000 of us own homes in France now. With often sky-high prices in Provence, savvy buyers have looked to the less sunny but more accessible villages and farmhouses in the Pas-deCalais, Picardy and Normandy areas to satisfy their longing for second or main homes in which to enjoy the slower paced rural idyll.

TOWN AND COUNTRY

Interior designer Gerard Conway had long been a fan of provincial France, especially the timber-framed architecture and imposing landscapes.

He moved from London to Paris in the 90s undertaking numerous private residential design projects. The pace of work was hectic so he decided to look for “an old house in a quiet place” as a weekend retreat from Paris. Having previously restored two holiday homes in France – an old Normandy priory as well as a Provencal farmhouse – Gerard had plenty of experience as well as good contacts and suppliers in France.

This time he chose the enchanting village of Gerberoy, a founder member of the Plus Beaux Villages association in France. Paris is an easy hour-and-a-half drive. There are 58 houses in the village and a few restaurants but not a single shop, although the locals don’t go without. “We’re supplied by growers who bring fresh produce to us by van which I love,” says Gerard.

ROOM WITH A VIEW