While most people look to modernise their homes – one local couple are turning back time with their luxury Regency-inspired renovation of a Whitehaven townhouse.
Jamie Verron, 36, and Steven White, 39, both originally from Northampton, first came across Whitehaven Hall while house hunting during the first COVID-19 lockdown.
The pair love historic homes and ended up buying the 1710 six-bedroom property for £235,000 as cash buyers – after selling their previous Victorian home to developers.
But when they first moved in, it was far from the maximalist heaven it is now.
Jamie said: “We arranged a couple of viewings for different houses, but just before we went to view them my other half said he had found the perfect dream ‘dolls house’ and I thought it was just beautiful.
“When we first moved in, the house was nothing like it is today. Everything was white, everything, and it had been left for quite a long time, so rats had got in and chewed all the wiring and all the pipe works.
“There’d also been a big flood which was pretty bad. But since then we’ve been doing it up and quite sympathetically, because it is over 300 years old.”
Following months of renovation and decorating, Jamie, who is retired, and Steven, who is a food store manager, transformed the house into a Georgian-style paradise – complete with marble fireplaces, mahogany doors, wood panelling and décor to make any antique dealer jealous.
Jamie said much of the initial decoration was done using antiques the pair already owned through buying from private collections and bankruptcy sales as well as fine art and antique auctions.
He added: “My other half has done a lot of the decor and the latest room we’ve done up is the dining room. What I wanted for that room was Regency pink silk, not wallpaper, on the walls.
“It’s what you see in pictures of Buckingham Palace and in George IV’s Carlton House, they did the walls in Regency pink silk.
“But a lot of our antiques came from our previous house and we’ve just got more over time. I think we’ve actually got one of the biggest art collections in Cumbria.
“I end up having to sell things as I end up buying too much and then I have to get rid of things to make room for new things. So because we’ve just done the dining room, things are coming out because they don’t suit the décor anymore.
“The whole house and every room is done, but it’s one of those things, you just keep finding things to do. We’ll probably be doing panelling in the hallways at some point soon.
“But I think generally the rooms are getting more extreme as the years go on.”
Part of the couple’s antique collection includes the entire silver dinner service of the Earl of Shrewsbury and a large silver ship centrepiece that is set to go on show for a short time at the Beacon Museum.
Jamie and Steven also share the space with their 13 Persian cats – who are often the stars of the show on the hall’s Instagram page.
Made up of six bedrooms, five reception rooms, a kitchen, small modernised gym, cinema room and library, dressing rooms, bathrooms and a walled garden – Jamie added that he felt Whitehaven had a lot to offer both in housing and as a town.
He said: “Coming from down south, the townhouses here are insanely cheap. I think Whitehaven should be on par with places like Bath, because it has all the old buildings an if anything it’s better, because it has got the beautiful marina.
“People go on about the high street, but in fairness it’s bad everywhere. Whitehaven still has a department store, Northampton lost their department store six years ago.
“We’ve also got an Argos too and if you look at the independents we have it’s not as bad as it is in a lot of other places.
“But there’s quite a few people we’ve got to know who have moved up here as well and word is spreading, it’s a much nicer lifestyle up here.
“To have this location right by the sea and marina and a drive away from the Lake District, you couldn’t get any better and I think over time it will be realised more and more.”
You can see more of Whitehaven Hall’s renovation on the pair’s Instagram page.
