Period properties always have a story to tell and all too often we are left to simply imagine who has lived within their walls and what their past lives have seen. For the residents of Old House in Church Minshull, this isn’t entirely the case however as they can see first-hand how their family home looked more than 60 years ago, through a Cheshire Life feature brought to their attention by a stranger.
Larry and Kerry Bannon bought Old House in 2001, after falling in love with it at a viewing day. It wasn’t until a few years later they discovered their home had been featured in Cheshire Life in October 1960. The article titled: Old House: an essay in modernisation, shone a light on the renovation work carried out by then-owner, Peter Sayce.
Larry says: 'One evening, three or four years after we moved in, there was a knock at the door. It was a man who said, “you don’t know me, but I cycle past your house a lot”. He had been to the doctor's and found a copy of Cheshire Life from 1960 in the waiting room, saw the feature on our house and asked the receptionist if he could take it. He then brought it round for us to see, which was so amazing.'
The couple were delighted to see their house in the magazine. Kerry says: 'It cost two shillings back in 1960 and some of the adverts are fantastic – all the fashions of the day. The feature explains how the owners bought it when it was in disrepair and modernised it to 1960s standards. It very much mirrors our story. When we bought the Old House, with it having been empty for some time, there were plants growing on the inside walls and rain coming in all over the place.
'The house had been rented out and then left empty for a few years and there was an open day to view it. There were quite a few people there when we arrived so we thought we would just sit in the garden for a while until it quietened down. We fell in love with it while sitting in the garden and then when we went inside we were “wow”, it was an absolute revelation – full of nooks and crannies and quirks. Driving back to Sandbach, where we were then living, we both said how much we had liked it. It was the first house we had both fallen for and we ended up getting it.'
Church Minshull is known for its black-and-white-timbered properties and Old House is at the centre of the village. The oldest part of the house dates back to 1640, with the rest built in the 1780s. It is steeped in history, as Kerry explains: 'Our little Old House has been a lot of things to a lot of people. It was originally an inn, called The Hollies, and it has been a village shop and post office as well as a district bank each Friday afternoon.'
The Grade II listed building is now a fabulous home with period features and stylish décor throughout the property.
The den is the heart of the home and where Larry and Kerry spend most of their time. The beamed ceiling and woodburning stove, with original Cheshire brick, make for a cosy feel with the light grey walls making the most of the light through the window.
Larry explains: 'Looking at Cheshire Life, what we call the den and have as our main living area was, back then, the dining room, with some beautiful furniture on show.'
Propped up in the den is an acoustic guitar. Larry and a friend from the village play guitar in a band with Kerry providing vocals. Known as The Beezz, the trio can often be found in the beer garden of The Badger Inn in Church Minshull, playing cover versions, from Bruce Springsteen to country and western, with the pub customers singing along.
A shiny black AGA is the focal point of the kitchen. The black beauty, as it is called by Kerry and Larry, was added when they renovated the room. 'I felt we needed an AGA because of the age and style of the house,' she says.
The dining room, with its tiled fireplace was used as a snug back in the 1960s. It is now a perfect room for more formal entertaining and leads through to the lounge.
Kerry says: 'The lounge was called the drawing room in the Cheshire Life feature. When we viewed the house and I walked into this room, I knew it would be the perfect place for our Christmas tree. It has an open fire and is a great space for socialising.'
There are four bedrooms, two en suite and a separate bathroom. The middle bedroom, with its pastel blue and pink bedding, is in the older part of the house and the beams across the wall to the door tell their own story. They are covered in small carved markings.
Larry says: 'You can see fascinating artisan markings on the beam joints. They were individual to the workers, who used them as a way of getting paid – they showed who it was who had carried out the work.'
The master bedroom, fresh and light with green accessories, has a shower room, though previously had a full en suite, with the family bathroom downstairs. 'We obviously wanted to change that because as it was, you had to go through the master bedroom to use the upstairs bathroom. We created a full stand-alone bathroom and a shower en suite for our room,' says Larry.
Old House has been brought back to a life fitting to its age and Grade II listing, although it has not been without its difficulties, says Kerry.
'Being a listed building and located within a conservation area means you have to get a lot of permissions to carry out work both in the house and the gardens. Many of our trees have preservation orders and we are very close to the River Weaver at the bottom of the garden. You definitely wouldn’t buy a property like this if you didn’t love your history, or if you wanted to change it all to chrome and glass. We thought it would take about five years to do all the work to bring it up to a good standard but in the end, it took us seven years to complete. I love interior design and I have the vision and ideas and Larry will always do what he can so we can achieve those ideas.'
The location is perfect for the couple as well. 'We are very fortunate. It is a wonderful place to live. The village has won community spirit awards and there are regular events everyone gets involved in,' says Larry.
After 46 years working in transport and logistics, including around 18 years in the NHS running the blood service fleet, Larry is now enjoying retirement. Kerry’s career has seen her run her own training and development business, but she has now scaled that down and the couple are enjoying a new stage in their lives.
With around an acre of land at Old House, Kerry and Larry have created the Loft Suite within the grounds, which they operate as an Airbnb. The bijou suite has a Juliet balcony with views of the sloping garden to the river and has given Kerry further opportunity to use her design skills to create an individual, quirky space using details of upcycling and recycling alongside Christian Lacroix wallpaper.
The couple also run a mobile prosecco bar, which they take to weddings and parties and next year are looking to launch a bespoke driving tour experience around Cheshire in their 1950s MG TF, which Larry is restoring. They already offer weekend experiences at The Retreat – a summerhouse with decking by the river in their garden and a perfect place for yoga or watercolour retreats, or afternoon tea.
'So much love has gone into this house and we have put our mark on everything so there is a real emotional attachment to it. I think that would make it very difficult to leave so, at this stage, we feel it is our forever home,' says Larry.
Perhaps in another 60 years, Old House and its family will once again grace the pages of Cheshire Life. That would be quite a story.
