Ancient farm prepares to reopen as holiday let after £2m transformation

Thursday 23 February 2023

An ancient farm which goes back to the 17th century will reopen in April as holiday lets after a £2m injection of covid recovery cash.

Morel Farm in the depths of St. Lawrence has been owned by the National Trust for more than 80 years.

A beautiful example of a traditional farmhouse, complete with granite cobbled courtyard, its own bakehouse, large fireplaces, rows of pigsties, a press and circular apple crusher, the farm used to be leased out to tenants by the organisation.

However, following a successful bid for £2.16m of Fiscal Stimulus funding – a Government scheme to help the local economy recover after the pandemic – the trust has converted the main house and two outbuildings into self-catered tourist accommodation.

It has also injected about £500,000 of its own money to complete the project, which has been overseen by contractors JP Mauger.

Pictured: The dining room in the farmhouse includes a new wood burner set in an original fireplace.

The Lieutenant-Governor, Vice-Admiral Jerry Kyd, is due to officially reopen the farmstead on 22 April.

National Trust Chief Executive Charles Alluto said: “We have kept as much of the historic detail as we can, and even when we’ve had to use modern materials, we’ve made them as authentically as we can, such as wall panels and windows.

“In some cases, where original features haven’t quite fitted in with the requirements of a modern home, we’ve retained them, such as an old fireplace in the main house, which is behind a cupboard door, and an old store in the kitchen.”

Pictured: The side of the bake house, which will become a one-bedroomed holiday apartment, has a number of pigsties.

“Another blend of old and new is the heating – the traditional-looking radiators are, in fact, powered by an air-source heat pump. We have tried to future-proof the farm as much as possible.”

The main 18^th century farmhouse is now a four-bedroomed holiday home, while the bakehouse and ‘chapel’ are both one-bedroomed, self-contained units.

The bake house retains its oven in the downstairs living space while the outdoor pigsties on the side each have new oak doors. 

The apple crusher and cider press are in a separate barn which is yet to be restored.

The farm’s gardens have been re-landscaped, which will include the sowing of a wild-flower ‘lawn’.

Pictured: The bake house includes an original hearth and oven, as well as a new wood burner and flooring.

Morel Farm was the first property to be gifted to the National Trust when Arthur Morel gave the house to the Trust in 1939. This was followed in 2004 with the donation of the surrounding fields by his daughter, Mary Le Marquand Morel.

At one stage, the trust did explore the idea of erecting some ‘glamping’ tents at the site but this was dropped after objections from neighbours. 

Morel Farm’s redevelopment was one of 47 projects which successfully bid for Fiscal Stimulus Funding in 2021 totalling £29.4m. 

Other projects included the new Healing Waves surf centre at Le Braye and the refurbishment of the Howard Davis Hall in the Howard Davis Park.

The money came from a £500m ‘Revolving Credit Facility’ which the Government paid back at the end of last year, having only used £40m of it.