beautiful backdrop for Temperley London campaigns, the house
has also provided the setting for many a bohemian bash, the
most famous being Alice’s annual summer parties, which she has
held for the past 18 years (on her parents’ farm before Cricket
Court). “It’s always fancy dress, always banquet tables and fire
flares and lots of music.”
At weekends, Cricket Court is typically full of family and
friends. They’ll enjoy beach walks, dinners at the nearby Hix
restaurant and visits with Alice’s parents, Julian and Diana. “My
dad will take people on a tour of the big barrels and stills,” says
Alice. “It’s kind of heady. It gives you a proper flavour of what
Somerset is.” Cricket Court is also a magical place for Fox to play
with his cousins. There’s a rabbit warren of secret rooms and
dungeons in the basement, and even a bear pit on one side of the
house. “It’s the last remaining pit for fighting bears in the UK,”
says Alice. “Eventually I’ll get round to do something with it. It
would make the most amazing place for a pool.”
But before that, there are plans to build a studio in the
garden with “the fastest ever wifi” so Alice can spend more time
working in bucolic bliss—“the house is amazing to live in but
I do need a clean white box outside to work in.” She’s tied to
London by work and Fox’s schooling at present, spending the
working week at her place in Notting Hill near the Temperley
offices, but she tries to escape the city each weekend. She’s also
keen for Fox to be in Somerset as much as possible. “You can
just open the doors there and you don’t see the kids for hours
and hours. It’s so liberating.”
Admiring Cricket Court, one cannot help but wonder when
Alice will apply her unique aesthetic to interiors for her brand.
“I’d love to. For me Temperley is not just about clothes; it’s more
of a lifestyle, how it’s worn and the spirit behind it,” she says.
Temperley interiors would, no doubt, continue to champion
her love of the kooky and ethereal. “I find things mundane
otherwise. I’m a hopeless romantic, but why be conventional?
Life’s for living.”hong kong tatler. september 2017 205