Cottage industry

Read on overleaf . . .

A LOT of emphasis has been put on our heritage in recent years, with hundreds of people researching their family history through sites like ancestry.com and TV programmes such as the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are? feeding that interest.

For Marion Williams and Mervyn Tong, of Pembridge, rekindling their history has become a way of life.

Stories of renovation are two a penny, especially when deep pockets relocate.

For Mervyn, securing the home where his father was born was all important.

The Herefordshire-born couple are gardeners by trade; Marion will be a familiar face to visitors to Bodenham's Broadfield Court and Mervyn has looked after the estate at Court of Noke for the past decade.

Their home, The Sallies, dates back to the 1720s, when many cottages of its ilk were built to house agricultural workers and their families.

"The Barratt homes of their day," as Marion puts it.

Mervyn's grandfather - a thatcher, hedgelayer and agricultural labourer - lived in the cottage with his wife, Sarah, and their 11 children.

His eldest son, Ernest, possibly helped the family buy their home when Luntley Court Estate was broken up.

He was the only child to leave Herefordshire, securing employment at Cowley and never marrying.

Mervyn's father, Sam, was called up at 18 and never returned to Pembridge to live after the Second World War. In 1978, after Ernest died, Mervyn's cousin, Bill, bought The Sallies at auction as an investment and possible future home for himself.

Never having the time to do the work on it, he sold it to Marion and Mervyn 25 years later, by which time it had fallen into disrepair.

Although there were no facilities, it still remained a liveable, useful cottage for one person.

In moving, the couple traded up from their pretty, black and white cottage a mile away (called Headlands), which they had lovingly restored.

"We had to think how to finance it," Marion said. "But with equity and savings we were able to buy it outright. Ideally we'd have done this in our 20s, but you can't have it all! I knew it was Mervyn's dream - we needed some land as smallholders."

"We wanted to keep it in the family, that's what fuelled us," Mervyn added.

"Our advantage has been getting reclaimed stuff," Marion explained. "Friends have donated a chair or a bath or a floor when we have needed one."

"We've also looked for a bargain or seen how something could be used in a different way with a bit of TLC," Mervyn explained.

When they moved from Headlands, Marion left a note for the new owners asking that should they decide to get rid of either the kitchen or the Rayburn to please get in touch.

A week later, both ended up at The Sallies; the Rayburn being pushed on rollers out of the house.

"We'd bought it for £90 in 1987 so it's a great advert for Rayburns!" exclaimed Marion.

"It's like a workhorse that fits into our lifestyle - it rules our life but it pays us back handsomely."

The couple have had to teach themselves the skills necessary for renovating an old property on a budget.

Marion borrowed a book from her library on DIY renderering.

"It's like cooking, you've got to make a batter to a smooth consistency before it all dries out," she explained. "It doesn't have to be perfect, which gave me confidence."

Marion's brother taught her how to measure out a mortise and tenon joint - remembering his woodwork at school.

"I also remember shouting directions to Mervyn, who was on the roof at the time, about how to fix the lead flashing on the chimney," Marion said.

"A neighbour appeared because she presumed we were having an argument!"

Inevitably, perhaps, some jobs have not gone 100% according to plan . .

"I realised I'd got the roof tiles wrong when I finished the first side," Mervyn admitted. "But luckily the cottage is south facing so I got it right for the other side!"

"These are the things you learn but, hopefully, we won't have to do it again!" Marion laughed.

Two years down the line, would the couple recommend such a project to others?

"Yes - if you have the inner strength," Marion said. "I wouldn't like to be a young mother with two little children.

"It tests you to the limit - we both work full time and haven't had a proper holiday since 1997!

"Yet sometimes I stop and think how lucky we are."

Thank you

Marion and Mervyn are indebted to the professional help they've received while working on The Sallies.

Crispin Hack, who rebuilt the chimney from scratch, Les Morgan who laid the groundwork, Peter Bruton who redid the electrics and Colin Walters the plumber.

"We were lucky with the people we've had to do the work," Marion said.

"Coming home when the builders were in was great, to see what they'd done. Now it's just us we know that when we get home from work, nothing's going to get done unless we do it."

Top: The 1950s English Rose kitchen in the utility room was salvaged from Broadfield Court when it refitted its conference centre a few years ago. It is an example of one of the first fitted kitchens to be manufactured in Britain and would have come from the former Spitfire factories near Birmingham.

"I like it because it's unique and would have been pioneering in its day," Marion said. "It will probably last forever because of its construction."

Above: The hearth at The Sallies would have perhaps been salvaged from a nearby cottage where Mervyn's great grandfather lived. Marion has restored it.

Right: Marion and Mervyn keep chickens too!

Marion with the reclaimed Rayburn.

How we used to live. The Sallies before Marion and Mervyn started work.

Mervyn greets Douglas when he and Marion's twin sister Marlane visited The Sallies for the first time. Mervyn suggests a title: "We have only just begun".

Even the doors have been recycled at The Sallies.

Mervyn finds some precious time to tend the vegetable patch.