Why Tom?
The previous owner of Orchard Farm was Tom, a well liked village character, but complete stranger to soap, hammer, paintbrush or any home improvements. After years of neglect the house and barns were in an unbelievably awful state.
It took us months just simply getting the house and outbuildings reasonably habitable, before we were able to start on the rather more exciting and certainly very rewarding transformation process.
It was twenty years before people stopped referring to Orchard Farm as ‘Tom’s place’, hence Tom’s Barn. We now have a grandson, Tom, who at 3 and a half assumes his role to be absentee landlord.
He seems quite happy at present with the way we are running things for him. |
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Tom's Barn is bright, warm, welcoming and spotlessly clean. Yet before we converted it in 1999, it was the most decrepit and cobweb festooned old barn you could imagine, smelling of ancient cows (and probably worse). We have photographs in the barn of the transformation which even we find hard to imagine, now that we have such a bright, warm, dry, cosy place.
We have a rolling programme of redecoration and renewals to keep Tom’s Barn fresh as new. Janet, our ‘right hand’ whom many of you know, terrorises any spiders who dare now to set foot, and keeps the place sparkling… We have just (Oct. '07) had the outside woodwork repainted.
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Comments from Tom’s Barn Visitors’ Book 2007 and 2008
"A lovely - and rare - opportunity to luxuriate in a cottage where the dogs feel as welcome as we do. We return to London footsore, well rested and with fond memories of our week in Tom’s Barn."
"Much welcomed relaxing weekend. The sound of birdsong and the church bells ringing on Sunday morning was a lovely reminder of village life in the country…"
"Back again for our fourth visit, and love it just as much!"
"Best Christmas present ever - forget the holidays abroad!"
"What a lovely place! All we wished for and more." |
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