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Step inside a charming, characterful and “wonderfully toasty” Georgian Hall.
Realising a childhood dream, West End actor Ben and his partner Paul have spent years transforming a dilapidated manor house into a fabulous retreat, all chronicled on their inspirational Instagram account The Country House Diaries. Set amid the Cumbrian fells, the Hall is imbued with history and perfectly attuned to its peaceful surrounds.
With a few quirky touches, like the alfresco bathtub and roaming chickens, Ben and Paul have breathed some magic into the 160-year-old property. Our Marketing Lead Katie spent a dreamy weekend at The Country House, cosying up among the custom cast iron radiators she helped them to select.
Dear Diary, take me back to Cumbria…
Ben and Paul welcomed Katie in on a cold and rainy evening with a G&T and dinner underway. She said it was instantly clear that they are natural hosts and extremely proud of everything they have achieved here.
Gathered round the table along with photographer James Everett, an old friend of the couple, talking interiors, show business and their next renovation venture, Katie got the sense it’s more than just a renovation. They’ve crafted something truly special – an indulgent holiday rental with a genuine sense of ‘home’.
Casting Call For Radiator Suppliers
In its early stages, the restoration project was featured on Channel 4’s Renovation Nation and the couple quickly drew a sizeable following on their Instagram account: @thecountryhousediaries. They found their audience to be “really supportive”, revelling in the twists and turns of the renovation but also offering a wealth of knowledge when they reached out for advice.
They inherited seven gorgeous antique cast iron radiators with the Hall but soon realised they would be needing more. After consulting the Instagram hive mind for radiator supplier recommendations, a flurry of responses led them to us. “We went to Castrads because we loved the quality of the product, having looked at many suppliers.” Paul told us. “We wanted a strong, quality cast iron radiator that would be in the house for years to come and we knew that by using Castrads this would be the case.“
Katie worked closely with Ben and Paul on sizing and positioning their radiators perfectly for every room in the house. Paul said, “The options that came with the radiators meant that we were able to find exactly the right size, heights and depths as well as the correct outputs for all the spaces we needed to heat and we saw the addition of the Castrads radiators as bringing in more focal points to a room, so we placed them more prominently in the rooms than you maybe would with a standard radiator.”
With an ambitious restoration underway, a growing social media following and a bold vision for the next chapter of the house, collabs with top design brands were destined to be the next step. But the couple told London Style Guide The Glossary that they never agree to any brand collaboration without careful consideration: “We always ask ourselves can we honestly look someone in the eye and genuinely say, ‘that’s an amazing brand, it’s really beautiful and the quality is brilliant.’ And if we don’t feel comfortable doing that, it’s a no.”
Paul told Katie, “We were keen to champion amazing British brands who are producing quality products and Castrads fitted that remit perfectly. So many of our guests comment on the radiators and also how warm the house is. We are just so happy with the addition they bring to whole look and atmosphere of the house.”
Scrubbing up well: Original Victorian radiators, encaustic tiles and Lincrusta wall coverings restored to their former glory.
The appeal of their Instagram grid is that alongside the spectacular location and perfectly executed interiors they give an honest, warts-and-all portrayal of the labour and dedication that goes into a project like this. For us, this snap of Paul cleaning up the hallway floor tiles sums it all up.
Both Paul and Ben have several builds and property developments under their belts, so they know their stuff and neither are afraid to pop on their marigolds and get stuck in. In fact, they reckon they did about 50% of the prep work at The Country House themselves. Paul described the job of cleaning up the original encaustic hallway tiles as “the most tedious and yet the most rewarding” task of the entire project.
The Hall is not listed but from day one Paul and Ben approached the restoration as if it was. Finding themselves surrounded by historic features that most of us would kill for, their task was to retain and reuse as much as possible.
This picture not only captures how much they have poured into the house, but also how much the house has given them in return. Despite years of neglect, many of the most characterful elements of the house were still in tact, from encaustic tiles to antique Victorian cast iron radiators and Lincrusta wall coverings.
Antique British-cast Radiators for timeless appeal and unbeatable lifespan.
In the entrance hall and upstairs landings (above) there are original Ideal Plain Radiators, cast in Hull by The National Radiator Company in the early 1900s. This round topped, plain faced style is generally known as a ‘Princess’ or ‘Duchess’. The first of its kind was The American Radiator Company’s ‘Peerless’ which hit the market in the 1890s and inspired several more, all of which informed the design of our own Emmeline.
Ben and Paul also discovered original oak window seats with Rococo Plain Window Radiators neatly tucked below. Also cast in Hull in the early 1900s, these were low-level radiators designed specifically to be used in combination with window seats.
Castrads is now your one-stop shop for new and antique radiators.
We are delighted to now be stocking an array of antique radiators though our Sister Company The Original Radiator Co. which can all be finished to order in any of our Signature or Bare Metal finishes as well as any colour from brands such as Farrow and Ball or Little Greene among others.
Our Fulham Road showroom has a display of original radiators, including the Ideal Plain Radiator (second from right) and the Rococo Plain Window Radiator (far left) seen in the Country House.
Call or visit one of our showrooms and start exploring vintage reclaimed heating options for your home.
For a Victorian, cast iron radiators were the healthy choice.
The Victorian era saw huge leaps in the understanding of hygiene and disease control. Public health and sanitation was undergoing major reform while at home cleanliness was close to godliness. Undecorated, plain-faced radiators, like the ones at The Country House, were applauded for their easy-clean benefits. Wealthy households were encouraged to upgrade to central heating from the old-fashioned open fires that brought coal dust, ashes and smoke into the home. Well into the 1920s, cast iron radiator advertising continued to promote general ‘healthfulness’, cleaner air and scrubbable surfaces.
In 1884, London hosted The International Health Exhibition, showcasing advances in every area of industry from fireproof clothing to curry paste, coconut fibre doormats and bottled mineral water. Four million people attended the exhibition and it began a whole series of events in later years.
Several heating engineers exhibited including James Keith, a pioneering Scottish foundry owner who patented his own cast iron radiators, developed heating systems for various public baths in London and Edinburgh, and held a long, lucrative contract to provide heating and ventilation for Cunard’s luxury liners. Rosser and Russell, a major heating contractor who held the Royal Warrant (granted in 1884) as ‘Horticultural Builders and Warming Engineers’ held a stand as well.
Also exhibiting was a certain embossed wall covering that Ben and Paul would definitely have recognised. Invented by British manufacturer Frederick Walton, the brains behind the flooring of the future – linoleum, Lincrusta won multiple gold medals for its sanitary benefits being highly durable, washable and ‘impermeable to moisture or damp’.
The original Lincrusta in the landings and hallways at The Country House has been incredibly well preserved. Living proof, like the cast iron radiators and floor tiles, of the enduring quality and longevity that come with traditional manufacturing techniques. A wonderful echo of the Hall’s rich history, Ben and Paul chose to feature the Lincrusta as a virtual ‘wallpaper’ on their website where you can also book your stay!
“We felt that the Castrads designs were so beautiful and we loved the idea of being able to chose from so many finishes and colours.”
Setting the scene
The house was originally owned by John Watson who made his fortune trading drapery. He’d certainly have appreciated the bespoke curtains and throws that Ben and Paul sourced from artisan mill Johnsons of Elgin, in Scotland. From top to toe, the Hall is a masterclass in subtly chic interior styling, with colour drenches on the walls in muted blues, dusky pinks and neutrals supporting a joyful cast of bright tones in the fabrics.
To really nail the personality of each room they poured a huge amount of time into mood-boarding, ordering our cast iron colour samples to get a feel for our range of finishes. Paul said, “Getting the sample paint colours was really exciting and helpful, we were able to make decisions easily and went with two colour finishes across the house.” They chose to finish most of their Grace radiators in Grey Bronze from our Signature Collection, opting for a custom Bronze Gold finish in certain living areas for extra razzle dazzle! “The Castrads radiators sit so beautifully alongside our seven original radiators that came with the house, it’s like they have always been here. With the shiny brass fittings, also from Castrads, they just glimmer and shine and simply look beautiful.“
Restoration complete, The Country House is now available as a holiday rental, where guests can luxuriate in the house and generally tap into its special energy. Why not book a stay and see it for yourself. If you come back brimming with Country House inspired ideas, you know what to do.
