‘Magnificently insane’ couple spend their £150,000 life savings transforming a run-down Edwardian mansion into an £800,000 home so posh that their friends have nicknamed them ‘Lord and Lady’
- Chris and Carole Wiltshire, both 57, dipped into their retirement pension pot to fund ‘project of a lifetime’
- They relocated to Kilpin in East Yorkshire and spent £550,000 on the sprawling seven-bedroom mansion
- Couple spent £50,000 doing it up, with another £100,000 needed to finish home, which could take ’15 years’
A couple who threw caution to the wind and traded in their family home and life savings for a dilapidated Edwardian mansion have been dubbed ‘Lord and Lady of the Manor’ by bemused friends.
Chris and Carole Wiltshire, both 57, dipped into their retirement pension pot to help fund their ‘project of a lifetime.’
They sold their four-bedroom detached family home of 18 years and relocated to Kilpin in east Yorkshire where they snapped up a sprawling seven-bedroom property set in four acres of grounds, with its own woodland.
The property was built in 1910 and boasts a tennis court, some 500 trees, a snug, family room, study and a room they will transform into a home cinema.
The pair paid £550,000 for the house, spending £50,000 doing it up – including £10,000 alone just to remove the fence – with another £100,000 is needed to finish the project, which they say could take 15 years to complete.
Chris and Carole Wiltshire, both 57, decided to throw caution to the wind and dipped into their retirement pension pot to help fund their ‘project of a lifetime’
The pair sold their four-bedroom detached family home of 18 years in June 2018 after their children, marketing executive, Emma, 31, and landscape architect James, 27, grew up and moved out
The couple relocated to Kilpin in east Yorkshire where they snapped up Kilpin Hall – a sprawling seven-bedroom property set in four acres of grounds, with its own woodland
Friends call the couple ‘magnificently insane’ and have nicknamed them ‘Lord and Lady Kilpin’ in honour of the name of the property
Friends call the couple ‘magnificently insane’ and have nicknamed them ‘Lord and Lady Kilpin’ in honour of the name of the property.
Chris, a production journalist, and Carole, an executive assistant, sold their family house in June 2018 and moved 17 miles away after their children, marketing executive, Emma, 31, and landscape architect James, 27, grew up and moved out.
Mr Wiltshire said: ‘We first saw the house on a grey February day. The grounds were quite overgrown and you could barely see the tennis court, but we fell in love.
‘We didn’t even need to come back for a second viewing. We loved the grounds and woodland. We love the feel of an old house and feeling that we are part of history. We know there is lots to do and think it will take 15 years to completely restore it to its former glory.’
The couple have been told the house could be worth £800,000 when it is finished – meaning they will have added £100,000 to its value.
Mr Wiltshire added: ‘We’ve had friends that are downsizing, as quite a few are retiring. Some are horrified by what we are doing and others can’t get enough of it.
‘We have a sign that we put up in the window whenever they come over that says ‘no riffraff’. I certainly don’t feel like lord of the manor, though. There’s no silver spoon in either of our mouths.
‘We’ve been able to do this by working hard and saving up so that we can have a property like this and enjoy the good life. It’s been great. We both work full time and have made sacrifices. I think it shows that hard work pays off.’
Lady Kilpin: Carole and their Tibetan terrier dog Eddie get comfy in their new home, Kilpin Hall
Mr Wiltshire at work in the garden. He said: ‘There are so many birds – woodpeckers, herons, house martins and even buzzards – and we have an orchard with lots of fruit coming through’
Often spending the entire weekend maintaining the garden – with it taking three hours just to mow the lawns – and hedges needing trimming about three times during the summer months, they have their work cut out
The property and land includes 500 trees set in its own woodland as well as tennis courts
Moving around 17 miles from Escrick to Kilpin in East Yorkshire, Chris, a production journalist, and Carole, an executive assistant, spent £550,000 on the sprawling house, built in 1910 and set in four acres which include its own wood – then spending £50,000 doing it up, while another £100,000 is needed to finish the project
No riff-raff: The pair place placing a sign saying ‘no riff-raff’ in the front window before friends -who call them ‘magnificently insane’ – visit
The property and land was structurally sound, so they have concentrated on stripping it back and installing original Edwardian features.
They have repainted the seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms, installed open burners in the bedrooms, traditional free standing roll top baths in the bathrooms, and are in the process of replacing the kitchen.
Mr Wiltshire said: ‘We want to give a nod to the past. We see ourselves as custodians of this house and eventually we will pass it on to the next family.’
But the biggest task has been tackling the grounds and removing a fence around the lawn which cost just under £10,000 to scrap because it goes around the whole perimeter at the front – requiring six skips.
Mr and Mrs Wiltshire begin tidying the garden at 6.30am before work, before carrying on when they get home and often spend the entire weekend maintaining it, with the lawn taking three hours to mow and hedges needing trimming about three times during the summer months.
Mr Wiltshire added: ‘I enjoy it so much. The best thing is watching the wildlife. We have some deer in the back garden and so many rabbits, it is like Watership Down.
‘The great thing about having a project is that you live and grow with it. Anyone who has lived in an old place will say the same thing. New houses are great for a little while, but then you think, ‘What will I do now?’ Often they have no soul or heart.’
The property was built in 1910 and boasts a tennis court, some 500 trees, a snug, family room, study and a room they will transform into a home cinema. Pictured, Carole at work in the garden
They have been told the house could be worth £800,000 when it is finished – meaning they will have added £100,000 to its value even after all they have spent
Using a ‘mink’ colour scheme, they got to work painting the seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms. They installed open burners in the bedrooms, traditional free standing roll top baths in the bathrooms, and are in the process of replacing the kitchen, while keeping all the mod-cons. Pictured, tiles in the hallway
The biggest task has been tackling the grounds and removing a fence around the lawn which cost just under £10,000 to scrap because it goes around the whole perimeter at the front
And they remain unfazed about the house being ‘haunted’.
Mr Wiltshire said: ‘We’re not sure if there are any ghosts in this house but our Tibetan terrier dog Eddie will go in the dining room and bark. He goes in there and looks up at the ceiling in the corner, the same specific place, barks and come out and that it is. It’s really strange but he is not frightened.
‘We had a 200-year-old cottage that was definitely haunted. My wife actually invited a medium in who said there was a lady called Miss Eleanor living there. She was like a poltergeist.
‘We’d hear her running up and down the stairs and there was occasionally a musty odour. Her presence actually became quite comforting. Once, when the house was creaking, my wife said, ‘Miss Eleanor you’re scaring me,’ and it went quiet.’
He added: ‘With pension rules changing and people able to take money out from 55 onwards, it has given us an opportunity to do something positive with it and give ourselves a project that we can get involved with and take forward.
‘We’ve inspired some of our friends to consider taking on a project now, too. We have had some sleepless nights – especially in the early days, if there was a big storm I worried in case it destroyed the trees in the woodland – but I’d still encourage anybody to give something like this a go.
‘As long as you have a full structural survey done and the basics are okay, you can do what you like at your own pace.
‘And when we sit in the garden with a glass of wine, listening to the birds tweeting at the end of a hard day, that’s when we think, ‘This was definitely worth it’.
The house has a lounge, dining room, snug, family room, study and a room they will transform into a home cinema
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