F
ollowing her dream of living in the countryside, Melissa
Jones was convinced there had been a typing error on the
estate agent details about the amount of land that came
with the Georgian house she’d fallen in love with. ‘It said
60 acres, but I thought they meant six, so we drove out to see it, only
to discover that it was correct,’ she says. ‘And the property included
two areas of ancient woodland that would need specialist care.’
But Melissa and her partner, Jeremy Hewlett, weren’t deterred.
‘This was 13 years ago and we had two small children: Harry, now18, and Ottilie, now 16, and we wanted to bring our family up in
the country. We’re all horse-mad, so we were looking for somewhere
with enough space for stables.’
Originally a farmhouse built in 1825, the property stands on
a hill in Berkshire with views for miles across the Kennet valley.
The couple soon realised that the house would need extensive
renovation, a project that would take them many years. ‘It’s been a
labour of love, restoring and extending the house, and learning how
to look after the land, which hadn’t been managed for decades,’ says16 | 25bh AUGUST 2019