A Private View: an artist’s 17th-century farmhouse in deepest Suffolk

The artist Helengai Harbottle picks up a pile of postcard-sized watercolours and spreads them out on the table in front of us. Painted in jewel-like colours, they are treasured corners of Holly Bush Farm, the 17th-century house in Suffolk which is now on the market with Inigo. Among them are pictures of a well-loved leather armchair by the stove in the sitting room, a bed, covered in a bright patchwork quilt, and a dark blue stool, silhouetted by the light flooding in from the large window behind.

After several decades of dividing their time between the countryside and London, Helengai and her husband Gwilym are leaving Suffolk in order to base themselves in one place. But their happy time at Holly Bush Farm will live on in the abundance of work Helengai has made during her years there, encouraged by the expansive landscape and the quality of light. “When I first walked into the house, I immediately thought this would be a great place to paint,” Helengai says. “And now that we're actually leaving, I’m busy trying to get it all down.”

Nearly 30 years ago, the couple were invited to a small production of a Mozart opera, which was being staged in a converted church owned by a friend in the nearby village of Shipmeadow. “We were really inspired by the area,” says Gwilym. “I remember driving up here, past these ancient round-towered churches, and thinking that it was an amazing place.” They decided to look for a small second home away from London but, after searching for a while, struggled to find anything that would work. Then they saw Holly Bush Farm. It was larger than what they’d originally had in mind, and had unprepossessing, brown-painted window frames, which made it look “very severe”, Gwilym says. “But then we went inside,” he continues, “and it was magical, really.”

Helengai: “We loved how it hadn’t been done up too much – it had been in the same family for decades. It felt almost untouched, yet it had been well maintained. We were very grateful that much of it remained original. It felt laid back and relaxed. And the main rooms are all big. It made me feel at home.

“I remember turning around and looking back along the corridor on the first floor and thinking ‘Oh, I just love this place’. The light was streaming in and lit up the whole corridor. I just loved the whole feel of the place and the sense of its history.”

Gwilym: “It was originally a farmhouse. The main part of it is early 17th century, with a brick extension at the back, which is said to be 18th century. There are limestone flagstones in the kitchen, original floorboards in three of the bedrooms, and pamments – traditional terracotta tiles common in East Anglia that are laid on earth or sand – which keep the house wonderfully cool in the summer. Walking up the stairs you think, how many other people have trodden on these steps over the past centuries? It may all go back as far as the Stuarts and of Shakespeare. I enjoy that sense of being part of its history.

“We didn’t have to do much to it, except paint the rooms and some of the beams white, and the external window frames blue, which has been a constant since we’ve been here. The front door has been various colours but is now pink – inspired by a lovely flowering rose that grows around the door.”

Helengai: “Once we whitewashed the walls and beams, it became a lovely place to show art. There’s a relaxed nature to the house – and because there are so many beams you could easily put small pins in to hang paintings. My studio is on the ground floor, but you could also display work in the sitting room and the corridor and hallways.

“It was also great for hosting open studios, which I would share with other artists; there’s a creative community in the village. I’ve also exhibited locally – at the North House Gallery in Manningtree, Norwich Castle Museum and the Cut Arts Centre in Halesworth, among other places.

“The house really encouraged me to paint the surrounding landscape and views out of the window towards the big oak tree in the back garden. I also paint from memory or from sketches, what I call ‘relaxed observation.’

“There are paintings everywhere in the house. Much of the furniture is inherited from my parents’ house in Ireland, but other things we found over time in local galleries, antiques shops and auction houses – such as the sideboard in the kitchen, which we bought at an auction house in Beccles. I originally worked as a textile designer – so over the years we have also collected from our travels in India, Indonesia and Mexico.”

Gwilym: “In the summer we spend a lot of time outdoors, entertaining friends or walking. We’ve kept the back garden fairly wild and there is an L-shaped moat which we keep a boat on, so there is a lot of wildlife. We often see kites, ducks, moorhens and hares.

“There are lovely walks from the house – the parish churches all have so much history. We also love to drive to the coast, to Covehithe or Dunwich Heath, which are both strange, wild landscapes.”

Helengai: “I used to come up by train on my own to paint and walk to the house from the station. It’s only a 20-minute walk – either along the road or you can take a lovely back route through the countryside.”

Gwilym: “It’s amazing on a moonlit night, you really shake London off.”

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