A Place By The Stream

A Love for Old Houses Led Jo Howat to Discover a Former Watermill, Which She Has Renovated to Create a Wonderful Family Home

It was a case of going back to their roots when Jo Howat and her husband, Graham Senior, decided to up sticks from London and move to the countryside. They are both from Yorkshire originally and, with their son Archie then a baby, they were keen to return to the area to raise their family.

Finding their dream home was surprisingly straightforward. ‘This was the second house we viewed,’ says Jo. ‘We love old houses and the sight of this converted watermill from the road sold it to us. As we approached, we had to cross a stream with a little bridge to get to the property – we were blown away.’

Over the years the house had evolved. ‘It began life as a working mill with a house attached and was altered to suit whoever lived here, so it had lots of character – including a water wheel at its centre,’ says Jo.