Look Inside… An Art Collector’s Cotswolds Home

Nestled in the North Wiltshire countryside, Northfield House is ‘authentic rural living’ at its finest – or so says current owner James Holland-Hibbert. Dating back to 1710, this historic family home has more recently been reimagined as the backdrop to James’s rather impressive art collection. Where some are forced to call in house-dressers to show off the full potential of their home, James’s mini gallery of works does all the talking for him. Take a look inside.

Northfield House Has Hit The Market

A gallery owner and art dealer, with an artist for a wife, James Holland-Hibbert’s main love is 20th century art – ‘[My wife and I] have a common interest in collecting work and creating a home with works of art that we want to live with,’ he explains. Artists on display span from Edward Burra and William Nicholson to  Graham Sutherland and Gwen John (‘traditional modern British artists’ as James puts it) while the artworks include leather dining chairs designed in 1927 by Karr Klint, prints of John Rocques’ 1746 Map of London, works by Damien Hurst and Lucien Freud, blankets from Robert Kime repurposed as curtains, and various works by artists with a connection to the local Cotswold area. 

While the artworks will naturally be moving along with the home’s owners, James explains that he originally chose Northfield House because it has the perfect bones for hanging his works. With art dealers spending their lives training their aesthetic eye to spot a hidden gem, how does an art dealer choose a home?  ‘I fell in love with the property because it’s just a very pretty house,’ explains James. ‘It has a classic Georgian facade and it’s got a lovely warm feel to it. It’s a very comfortably laid out house with good proportions and nice-sized rooms – art always looks best in a well-proportioned space.’

Having lived in the property for 15 years , he and the family have decided it’s finally time to move on to a new project in the local area – though his children remain up in arms about moving from their beloved home. While sympathetic to its original layout, James has conducted sensitive renovation work on the property over the years to restore its historic features. ‘It was mainly cosmetic; it was mainly decoration,’ he explains. ‘I did a little bit of structural work but we were lucky that the house hadn’t been altered very much.’

A key part of the development included removing the carpets to uncover the original floorboards and flagstone floors, as well as restoring the original cornicing. One of the standout rooms in the house is, perhaps surprisingly, the bathroom which was converted from a bedroom to create a bigger, more open space. ‘It’s such a luxury to have a big, large bathroom,’ says James, ‘because bathrooms are often shoved into a hall as it were.’ Meanwhile, the once pokey landing has also been expanded to make a more liveable area which connects to the surrounding four upstairs bedrooms.

Though a big fan of his bathroom, when pressed for his favourite feature of the home James opts for the walled garden. ‘The walled garden is such a luxury in and of itself, because it’s sheltered and you can grow along it,’ he explains, adding that there is an additional formal garden with mature borders and lawn, a vegetable garden, orchard, field and paddock space with plenty of trees. ‘It’s got a nice outlook, and it’s in a very pretty rural part of North Wiltshire.’

Alongside the main building, Northfield House also comes with an additional Coach House with storage and garage space plus an additional open plan living area which can provide additional accommodation. Attached to the Coach House is the former stables which currently provide a home/office studio space with potential to be transformed into a fifth bedroom. 

James describes the unspoiled north Wiltshire village as ‘authentic’ and ‘untouched’ – ‘It’s not a grand, moneyed area. It’s nice for that reason. It’s untouched and under the radar.’

While Northfield has become a beautiful backdrop for James’ art, first and foremost it has been a family home, full of memories of raising his children. ‘For that reason, it’s been just wonderful […] It’s a joy to live in. I think the best way to sum it up is to say that it’s the most perfect, warm family home.’

Northfield House is on the market for £1.75m. Find out more at knightfrank.co.uk