Helen and Stuart Tudor weren’t even looking for a period property when they started house-hunting after meeting in 2020. They each have two children and when Stuart sold his house and moved in with Helen, her three-bedroomed semi-detached was more than a little cramped with two adults and four children. So they began the search for a bigger home.
'We had found a house and it was going through but there kept being delays and then the solicitor called to say it had fallen through,' says Helen. 'We were sitting in the garden and I remembered a friend was selling his property – Balmoral House. I rang him to see if it was still for sale and he said yes, although he had taken it off the market as people were viewing it but saying it was just too big. On a whim, we walked round to go and see it and Stuart fell in love with it straight away. I had always imagined us buying a big modern house but when I went upstairs and saw the bathroom, I just thought yes; that sold it for me. The bedroom and bathroom suite felt like a spa hotel and I thought I could see myself living here for the rest of my life.'
Balmoral House in Grappenhall, Warrington, was built as a private dwelling before being turned into a maternity hospital and it has a family connection for Helen – something she was unaware of until she showed her parents round before she and Stuart bought it. 'I was born here,' said her dad, Sam Leach. And due to the property retaining many original features, there are still metal boards visible on the walls saying: ‘single bed ward’ and ‘two bed ward’, as well as one showing ‘maternity ward’. This means Helen knows exactly which room her father was born in back in 1949. It is now a guest bedroom.
Following the closure of the hospital, the property was a hotel for many years and, in another coincidence, the Tudors' mortgage advisor had worked there as a waitress during her teenage years. 'It is amazing. People have been born here and got married here. It has such great energy. I just love it,' says Helen.
Helen and Stuart bought the seven-bedroom house for £1.1 million in mid-December 2021 and hosted Christmas Day dinner for 25 people just weeks later. 'We’ve both got big families so we do a lot of hosting whether it’s parties or barbecues,' she says.
In July 2022, the couple held the wedding reception for 120 guests in a marquee in their garden.
Balmoral House has an imposing façade but behind is a warm and welcoming home. The vast hall, with its wooden, patterned panelling and William Morris wallpaper has light pouring in from stunning stained-glass windows. The sunlight is reflected thanks to the large free-standing gilded mirror leaning against the wall.
'The entrance is where we tend to have our gatherings. It would have been the hotel reception area and behind the stairs, we have our bar area. It is perfect for parties,' explains Helen. 'We were very lucky; the previous owners lived there for more than 20 years and had restored it into a fabulous family home, retaining and restoring many original features. The one thing I wanted to do when we moved in was actually to do nothing. I wanted to live here for a while before making any big decisions.'
In the kitchen, the Aga range takes centre stage. The muted cream tones of the range and units are enriched by the wooden dining table, handcrafted by Stuart. The Aga hasn’t been turned off this year as it’s been so cold,' says Helen. There’s actually a second kitchen to the back, which we use when we turn the Aga off. We have a gas range cooker in there and, to be honest, that does better roast potatoes than the Aga.'
The four teenagers in the house are certainly well catered for with their very own games room and chill-out area. Helen says: One of the few things we did change when we moved in was to swap what had been an office room into a games room for the kids to have their own space. It has a pool table, a dart board, and a fridge for their drinks and snacks. The basement was previously used as a nightclub but we created a chill-out room for them to be able to relax in.'
Balmoral House is also home to dachshund Dave (named after David Bowie due to having one brown eye and one blue eye) and cats Terry and Tina.
The adults have a cosy living room to retreat to. With pale blue walls and grey sofas, it has a calm vibe and the original fireplace is a focal point – and source of heat. 'With Stuart working in a timber yard, we are never short of wood so the fire is always lit. When the door is closed and the curtains too, it is, despite being such a large space, nice and warm and snug. I bought the rug for both warmth and acoustics so it really adds to the room,' says Helen.
'One of the benefits of having large rooms is you can accommodate big furniture, which can often be found on sale in charity shops, for example, as people don’t have the space for such pieces. That was where I picked up the dresser and my daughter buys me charity shop tea sets to display in it. We also reclaimed the table, as again, there is not much call for large, darker furniture in modern houses.'
Heading upstairs with a stained glass window illuminating the landing, there is a statement wardrobe, left by the previous owners who, moving to a small cottage, had no use for such a piece of furniture. Helen calls it the ‘Narnia cupboard’ and it adds to the individualism of the interiors.
The master suite, the one that clinched the sale for Helen, really does have a boutique hotel feel to it with its free-standing, cast iron, claw foot bath and original radiators. The room gets bathed in sunshine, making it the place for a relaxing soak.
The bedroom carries on the luxury hotel design with a sofa and drinks cupboard added to make it an escape from the hustle and bustle of busy family life. While Helen describes this as perhaps the most modern-looking of all the rooms, the original fireplace is a reminder of its Victorian roots.
Helen works from home in her role as a coach helping businesses both home and abroad grow by attracting clients from LinkedIn. She hosts business mastermind days for entrepreneurs and has amassed more than 100,000 followers across her social media platforms.
Helen’s husband Stuart co-owns Rowswood Timber in Hatton and he put his skills to good use to build Helen a treehouse office in the garden. The eye-catching wall behind her desk is a real talking point as she conducts her business calls via Zoom. She says: 'It is digitally printed wallpaper and it has been a feature on my office walls for the past 10 years. Whenever I have moved, I have put it up as I think it looks cool and it has now become part of my branding. I absolutely love my office – it’s my little escape pod.'
While Helen and Stuart are happy to wait before undertaking any major changes inside Balmoral House, they are keen to start work on landscaping the garden to create an outdoor kitchen and bespoke seating area.
Such is the beauty and elegance of the property that it is now part of the Lifestyle Locations’ portfolio, which curates venues for exclusive photography and filming locations. Louis Theroux's company, Mindhouse, filmed a documentary at Balmoral House and it has also provided the backdrop for a gothic wedding shoot, a body-positive photo shoot and for brand shoots for entrepreneurs. Helen says: 'Photographers love the house because of the features and the light, and because there is plenty of space to store their equipment. It is also perfect for food photography as there are two kitchens – one for preparation and one for show.' A house of many parts and a picture-perfect property, as well as a cherished family home for the Tudor clan.
