A Bath stone barnstormer

A move from the centre of Bath led the Joneses to their dream home in the countryside

- Victoria Jenkins

Jane and Simon Jones and their two sons Harry and Charlie had been living in the centre of Bath, but decided to try life in the countryside. After selling up they rented a place in a tiny village – “and then we fell in love with the area,” says Jane, a freelance marketing consultant.“It was so scenic and quiet.”

So, when an old converted barn came up for sale, the Joneses jumped at the chance, especially as there were amazing views from some of the windows.

“It’s about 100 years old, built of Bath stone, and was converted in 1986 into a four-bedroom dwelling,” says Jane.

“We moved into it in 2011.”

However, the small kitchen was dark and dingy – “it let the rest of the house down” – and there was a ramshackle lean-to conservatory attached to it, separated by a very thick wall and tiny opening. “The kitchen was so small you couldn’t see much of the view anyway,” says Jane. “But we always knew that one day we would be adding an extension to make a larger kitchen.”

However, in the interim they made several smaller changes – they replaced some rotten exterior tongue and grooving with red cedar cladding, then repainted all the dark green window frames in cream to tone in with the Bath stone.

“The barn interior also needed updating,” says Jane. “So, over the years we replaced the flooring with French oak, redecorated, put a new bannister and spindles on the staircase, and refitted the bathroom, two shower rooms and the downstairs cloakroom.”

‘They found out that if you live next to a Duchy of Cornwall farm, it takes quite some effort to get the planners to agree’