INVITATION TO RELAX

This lockdown project 'pandemic buy' became the perfect antidote to city life for Rachel Southern

- ALICE HUMPHRYS

 The cottage reminds me of my grandma's house - I know she would have loved it,' says Rachel Southern of her Cotswolds bolthole, an idyllic property that dates from the mid-1600s. Originally a barn adjoining the next-door farmhouse, it was later converted into two simple one up one down' cottages. Then in the early 1900s, it was knocked through to create a single home.

Rachel describes it as 'a pandemic buy'. Having purchased it in February 2021, building work commenced in March and the interior was completed by the end of September. 'Our main home is in London but we wanted somewhere closer to family that all of us could enjoy, but which would also generate some income by renting it out occasionally,' says Rachel. 'Lockdown gave me the time and space to do it.'

The renovation focused on keeping as many original features as possible. Beams were stripped and repaired by a specialist,' says Rachel. 'We preserved as many of the 300-year-old floorboards as we could, but some just disintegrated and we had to source similar boards and a five-metre oak beam during lockdown. We eventually found one in a reclamation yard in Gloucester but viewing everything on a mobile phone in a video call wasn't easy!'"