A Private View: the reinvention of Caple ne Ferne

Surrounded by over 45 holm oak trees, sealing it off from the world, sits a storied Victorian house that’s just a stone’s throw from St Leonards-on-Sea beach. Built in 1880 for a Major Tubbs and his wife Fanny, extended in 1927 by the London Omnibus Company as a holiday retreat for its workers, and repurposed over the following decades as a language school, wedding venue and even, infamously, a Church of Scientology outpost, it was eventually saved from developers with a Heritage listing. When interior architect Scarlett Gowing and digital designer Josh Holliday discovered it in 2017, the house was an institutional warren covered in oppressive 1950s carpets, its gardens swallowed by brambles.

“It had lost a lot of its original charm because so much of it had been institutionalised,” says Scarlett. “It was quite sad and dark, but it was a diamond in the rough.” Drawing on Scarlett’s expertise, the couple have spent the past nine years meticulously restoring the house, honouring its original bones and allowing its grand proportions to breathe once more. The result is a warm and layered home with contemporary touches, sensitively adapted for family life.

Josh Holliday: “When we were living in London with our first child over 10 years ago, we decided that we just weren’t getting what we wanted out of the city anymore. We’re both Australian, so living by the coast was quite appealing. We came down to St Leonards-on-Sea, rented for a little while, and then purchased Capel ne Ferne at the end of 2017.”

Scarlett Gowing: “When we first saw it, it was in a total state. Portions of the ceilings were missing and damaged, and it had been completely diced up thanks to its many reincarnations. But the proportions are magnificent and it just screamed potential. There were lots of beautiful details once you looked past everything that needed to be done.”

Josh: “It has an immense 10-metre-high ceiling in the hallway as you come in, a sweeping staircase, which has a Gone with the Wind feel to it, and amazing stained-glass windows with nature motifs in almost every room. Many of the fireplaces have original illustrated tiles, some depicting scenes from Shakespearean plays, while the ones in the library are by the artist Randolph Caldecott, taken from the plates used in The House That Jack Built. Pretty much the entire house is parquet flooring, much of which was hidden under carpeting.

“We love a project and spent our time turning the house back to the original floor plans, removing partitions, and reinstating proper bathrooms. We also remodelled the former guest wing into a self-contained annexe; it can be easily closed off to rent out as an Airbnb, or opened up when friends and family come to stay.”

Scarlett: “This project has been very much in line with what I do – I work on a lot of period properties, making them more contemporary. You need to lean into the history while finding clever ways to adapt it for how we live today.”

“We haven’t gone fussy; our taste is quite simple in a lot of ways. Because it is Grade II-listed, with a lot of heavy wood panelling, you need to balance that out. For the colour palette, I drew inspiration from the stained glass, which softens everything – in the dining room, we’ve got vintage Murano glass chandeliers that mirror the pinks, greens and yellows in the glass. We’ve used Dedar and Kelly Wearstler wallpapers, bespoke embossed raw silk wallpapers in the lounge, and upstairs is a beautiful embroidered gold silk wallpaper that I designed.”

Josh: “With a historical house, you might have a choice of different periods to go back to, and there’s certainly some art deco elements in some of the bathrooms, but we really stuck with the Arts and Crafts aesthetic. Scarlett hasn’t sought to recreate it authentically, but to update it with a more modern edge. The Victorians were great at pilfering from different time periods and I think our approach is a continuation of that.”

Scarlett: “We only recently extended the sandstone terrace, which has been transformative. In Victorian times, they just didn’t entertain outside in the way we do now, so it was half the size. Now it feels more in keeping with the rest of the house.”

Josh: “When we moved in, one of the first tasks was to reduce the inaccessible jungle and turn it back into a more manicured garden like it had been in its infancy. Now there’s a rose garden, a tropical bed with palm fronds, a pond with swan sculptures, and large ornamental and heritage trees. It’s hard to fathom that the house is in central St. Leonards and about a five-minute walk from the beach, because you’re in this peaceful cocoon of trees.”

Scarlett: “One of my favourite spots is the bay window in the lounge – it’s a south-facing house, so the sun wraps around and floods it with light and warmth. It’s lovely for reading a book or having a drink, unwinding and socialising. In the winter months, we spend a lot of time in the hall around the wood burner and the piano – my son is really musical and is often performing some sort of show. At Christmas we often have a big tree and all gather around the piano – you can fit loads of people in.”

Josh: “The house is so spacious and tranquil, and it’s got real character – I think that’s what makes it such an enticing place for everyone to feel at ease and have a great time. Certainly, the children have really enjoyed living here, just to have this size of house where they can run around with 20 other kids and play hide and seek and invent their own games. It’s a wonderful place to grow up.”

Scarlett: “I’ll miss what it has granted us as a family. We’ve been here for nearly 10 years and have enjoyed everything about it. You put a lot of work into these things, it’s been a real labour of love. I’ll also miss the views. From the tower at the top of the house, you can see the whole coastline. And when the Red Arrows fly across, or there are fireworks, it’s a pretty magical place to be.”

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