France’s loss was Scotland’s gain when a couple decided to abandon ideas to renovate a French chateau and took on Manar House in Inverurie instead

TEXT Nik Hunter IMAGES Elliot Roberts

Christina and Dean Horspool have always had big ideas, and one of them was to buy a chateau in France to renovate. They had travelled around the country when they were younger, camping in the grounds of grand chateaus and dreamt of having one of their own. “Unfortunately, the finances didn’t add up – and we don’t speak French!” says Christina wryly. 

However, after living in a town house in central Aberdeen for around eight years they finally decided it was time to take the plunge and move. “We adored our three-storey town house which we had completely renovated,” Christina recalls. “However, with our daughters, Chloe and Amelie, under the age of two it wasn’t a practical family home. We needed to look at how to make life easier – a driveway, a larger garden.” 

When Christina and Dean spotted Manar House in Inverurie on the market in 2019, the finances still weren’t on target, but the property was not dissimilar to a French chateau. “It was way over our budget, but this was the dream, and I made an appointment to view. It was a horrible day, but soon as we got here, we knew. It was beautiful, it just needed someone to put it back together.”

It seemed like fate, and Christina and Dean made an offer which was accepted. But house buying often isn’t simple and putting it back together was indeed the main issue as the instant the house was under offer the lead was stolen off the roof. Immediately, the couple were dealing with a house that was now not only derelict but not watertight either. “There was water pouring through the ceilings and everything we wanted to save and rescue like the original coving was getting wet.” This also meant that the house was pulled out of the sale and put into an auction. After a nerve-wracking auction, the couple finally completed the purchase and started on rescuing the property. The dream, however, was fast disappearing and to add more fuel to the fire, the pandemic was coming.

“It was a very strange Christmas that year,” Christina recalls. “The house was pulled out of the sale in October, and we had to wait until January for the auction, then didn’t collect the keys until February so we got the roofers in the same day to get started on making it watertight.” However, although Dean and Christina had a few weeks before they actually moved in, they knew they had to work fast. “It was becoming clear that something major was going to happen with Covid and we wanted to be in the property rather than unable to move into it.”

When the pandemic hit, Christina was still working full-time in charge of a team of 100 in a consultancy while Dean was working in asset integrity and they had to work from home. The family moved into one room with a sofa, two desks, a fridge freezer and a microwave. This one room became a playroom/office/living room and bedroom, and the couple’s two young daughters were stuck at home in a house that was in reality, a building site. “I recall giving a speech for an energy industry conference which was being broadcast live to thousands and I was sat on our bed with my laptop on a chest of drawers. I’d put a map up behind me to make it look more like an office and not a storage room!” However, this bizarre situation did spur on the couple’s plans as Christina remembers: “It was an adventure with real highs and real lows. However, there’s nothing like living somewhere to make you want to make it better!” 

With that in mind, once the house was watertight, the couple had to decide what to do next as Christina explains: “We were aware from the outset that it was too big for a family of four. Hugh Gordon, the first owner, had 10 children so it worked for him but not for us. We knew it needed to be loved by more than just our family, so it had to be a home and a business.”

The initial plan was to renovate the family’s living accommodation and then work on the business aspect which originally had been an event venue with accommodation in the wing of the property. However, with the uptake in staycations after Covid, Christina and Dean decided to create three five-star apartments in the wing which would in turn, provide the income needed to renovate the rest of the house.

Fortunately, the apartment wing didn’t require any structural renovations, but it was suffering from serious dry rot, missing floors and walls in a severe state of dilapidation. “Luckily the walls that were really badly damaged were partition walls not the lathe and plaster ones; we think they were probably additions from the 70s and the wing was probably the worst in that sense.”

As no-one was allowed into the property during the pandemic, the couple had to apply for retrospective planning permission for the renovations. “We’ve never renovated a listing building before and I definitely would not recommend going down the retrospective route – it was incredibly stressful.”

Fortunately, Dean had done his homework as Christina explains: “Dean had done a bit of a research before we offered on the house and before the lead had been stolen so we knew roughly what work might be required and what sort of costs we’d be taking on.” Dean also looked into what contractors were recommended for this type of work and had received quotes and availability schedules. With this knowledge the couple chose a builder and contractor who were recognised by Aberdeenshire Council for their work on listed buildings. “Having the advice of the contractors was so important. That was why everything we had done was done to what was expected by the planners. Our builder and contractor advised us on everything from the harling (rough cast wall finish) to how we treated the inside.”

While Covid provided the couple with lots of additional challenges, one upside was that their DIY skill set improved immeasurably! “Covid did force us to do more of the work ourselves. Anything we could do that wasn’t skilled or that we could learn quickly online meant donning our dust masks and getting fired in. I actually think Dean could offer a painting and decorating service now!”

A combination of YouTube tutorials and guidance from Graeme the builder meant that Dean was able to do the pointing on the exposed stonework throughout the house which was handy, as there’s a lot of it. “The stonework that has been left uncovered was uncovered because the wall was rotten. However, once we found it, it was such a beautiful feature to display that we decided to keep as much as we could.” 

It’s a feature that adds character to the property and shows the real fabric of the building. Likewise, the original fireplaces which the couple have uncovered in abundance. “Every time we seemed to take a wall down, we’d find a fireplace.” As none of these had the original surrounds, Dean sourced replacements from eBay and Marketplace. “None of the fires in the bedrooms are working at the moment but they could be if we wanted to. In the main part of the house the surrounds were all insitu.”

As there had been some renovations over the years, most of the plumbing was in the right place but the main issue the couple are now having is trying to reconcile their thoughts on clean energy and sustainability in a listed building. “The house runs on LPG, and the only oil we have now is for the Aga; for now, we have an efficient zoned heating system but we will have to look at other options in the future.” 

While Christina is constantly negotiating the listed building consent of the house, she is trying everything to create a more sustainable future for the property. “As we can’t change the single glazed windows, we’ve ended up doing it the old-fashioned way.” By this she means using the original shutters, buying good quality curtains, using a wood burner and having lots of blankets. “Fortunately, on the grounds there’s an endless supply of sustainable wood and whatever falls is chopped and dried.”

Throughout the apartments she’s sourced local soaps and refillables and she’s working with nearby businesses such as Barra Berries and the local greengrocers for the welcome packs. “As we have a big Instagram following (@houseofhorspool), we try to connect with local, regional and national businesses to increase the awareness of small organisations and brands that have quality products and are working hard on their sustainability.” From carpets to paints to furniture, Dean and Christina try to source the most sustainable options they can find, and everything interior design-wise throughout the house has been carefully curated. 

This Instagram following has its benefits too. After refurbishing Amelie and Chloe’s bedroom there was a huge storm which caused a leak in their room. “I was very vocal on Instagram about how fed up I was, and posted ‘please bring gin’,” says Christina. “Later that day, a guy walks up the drive from Little Brown Dog Spirits and says he’s bringing gin for Christina! We had a gin tasting quite soon after – that’s how you meet the local businesses! We hadn’t heard of them before and now we mention them to all our guests!”

With the luxury apartments now complete and open for business, Christina is focused on refurbishing the rest of the house which is no small feat, especially as she’s keen to get everything just right. “Dean is my superstar sourcer, I tell him what I’m looking for and he manages to source amazing quality pieces. We’ve been taking our time purchasing the chandeliers as we want to choose styles that will stand the test of time. The one in the hall is apparently from the London Palladium and I’m going to believe that!”

This elegant chandelier is the perfect finishing touch to the beautifully refurbished entrance hall. And, whilst the flagstones in the front part are original, sadly the flags in the rear part had been cemented so a new parquet floor has been laid on top. In the drawing room, the original flooring has also been salvaged and elsewhere in the property Christina has been working with Alternative Flooring to create made-to-measure rugs to fit around the columns. “I contacted them early in the renovations. Their products are made from British wool and their sustainability ethos really stood out from the crowd.” 

The latest room to benefit from a makeover is the fabulously quirky, jungle-themed dining room which has been several years in the planning. “We’ve had the pleasure of working with some great design companies to create the spaces we now have such as Woodchip and Magnolia in the main hallway and billiard room, to Paint and Paper Library in the dining room and drawing room/yoga studio.” Working with their talented teams has allowed Christina to bring her visions to life. “Most of our wallpapers are nature themed as we wanted to keep bringing the countryside in.” 

There is certainly plenty of countryside around Christina and Dean’s home and it’s something they are keen to share. “Our plans have evolved as we see how the world changes.” Whilst the house and grounds lend themselves perfectly to events, the couple are keen to embrace variety and accommodate several different ones. “The yoga festival we hosted was a success, and we had some Italian guests staying recently who are actors and are keen to put on a show here – perhaps in the grounds?” The house has recently been opened for exclusive use which has proved popular with golf/whisky tours and weddings. And, with the option of a butler and private chef, guests can enjoy the complete, luxurious, country house experience.

Christina and Dean are also working with local farmers, hosting Highland cows and Highland ponies in their fields. “I’d like this to be a community hub and cultural space and we’re just figuring out what that looks like and what people want. We want to live here; we want to work here but we want to be mindful of our neighbours. We want the community to be involved and to put Inverurie on the map a little bit.”