The Manor House, Front Street, Elsham, North Lincs.£630k

July 13, 2019

The best value, historic houses currently on the market are under the huge, blue skies and glorious sunshine and beside the rolling fields or in the pretty, ancient towns of Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire.

This beautiful house dates from the 16th century, there are alterations from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, and 20th century renovations, you can read the details of the listing on the Images of England website above, although this project is coming to the end of its life.

This property seems to have been well maintained, it has many interesting period features and has been furnished and decorated in sympathy. Many period properties these days are tarted up, furnished with the latest fashions and hideous modern furniture, given umpteen unnecessary ensuite bathrooms and so on. I will only be featuring those whose current owners have some taste and imagination and a degree of historic knowledge and sympathy.

I’m not really a fan of exposed, internal brickwork but I think it is justifiable where the early bricks are so lovely and the lime mortar in good condition.

The new owner would need to replace the fitted carpets with Persian, Turkish or other Oriental rugs and floorboards and introduce more early items of vernacular furniture from the 17th and 18th centuries. There has never been a cheaper time to buy 17th century oak coffers, refectory tables, back stools and wainscot chairs. Early 18th century dressers are cheaper than they have been for years and the most beautiful Georgian sideboards, bureaux and sets of chairs can all be had for a few hundred
pounds, even William and Mary burr walnut comes up at the sale rooms for 2 or 3 hundred pounds quite regularly and I advise anyone furnishing a period home to look at https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb. Here you can search your local auction houses and leave bids online, or search for individual items, all are photographed in the catalogues. The estimates are often a good deal cheaper than eBay, though of course one still finds the most tremendous bargains there. Even if you bid on items you fancy at the other end of the country, you are never more than a couple of clicks away from a man with a van who will collect it from the auction and deliver it to your door, for £60 - £100.

The huge early fireplace in the dining room is a lovely feature and the dusky pink/orange of the walls would look well with early dark oak, mahogany and walnut, particularly one imagines in the flickering firelight or as the sun is setting in late January at tea time with the table spread for tea: buttered crumpets, scones, fruitcake, home made bread and jam and a pot of whatever they drink in North Lincolnshire instead of Yorkshire tea.

There are no historic plaster ceilings from the 18th or 19th century to restore, fortunately, as this is a huge cost, but the textured wallpaper needs to go, a skim of lime plaster should probably replace it.

The kitchen is rather dated. How sad, a kitchen in a period house should be timeless, neither fashionable or old fashioned. The racing green Rayburn is good, green is so much more practical than cream, but fitted units, especially constructed of knotty pine are passé. The exposed bricks don’t work in this context, but they might be alright with more interesting antiques and kitchenalia. A simple oak or sycamore work table should replace the central island and some old oak, free standing cupboards from the 19th century will suffice, instead of built in units, perhaps a Georgian dresser with cabriole legs, not too solid at the base and one or two country chairs.

I think I would be tempted paint the knotty pine staircase and doors in a deep olive green or blue/grey.

Externally the lovely ochre colour looks perfect under the huge blue sky and contrasts nicely with the old pan tile roof. The property is not particularly high, so maintaining the roof and water goods would not be difficult, it appears to be accessible from all angles. The gardens are walled, the best sort, and mostly laid to lawn and seem very well maintained. The weeping willow is a tremendous shape, although it is silly to say that it is like a full size bonsai tree, that is what it brings to mind.

All in all a fantastic house in which to bring up a family.