Chalet gets its own spa treatment
When word went round that a businessman had bought one of Scarborough's best-known seaside properties, there was some concern over what he might do to it.
The Spa Chalet, built into the South Cliff a few feet above the sands, is one the town's most unusual heritage homes. It wouldn't look out of place on the slopes of a verdant Swiss mountain.
Yet it has stood at the end of the Spa footbridge since 1860, scarcely bothered by passing trends.
By the time it came up for sale for the first time in 2007, it was declared "in need of modernisation", a process that can so easily destroy a building's innate character.
Fortunately, a combination of experienced conservation architects, a wealthy new owner keen to preserve the past at any cost and a Grade II listing that protected some of the sensational period features, has resulted in possibly the most charming home on the east coast.
It's a great result for the property, which was designed by Crystal Palace creator Sir Joseph Paxton, who also drew the plans for Scarborough's Spa.
The chalet, constructed from brick and timber cladding, skirted with a crenellated balcony and topped with a slate roof, was occupied by the Spa manager.
Ownership passed to Scarborough Council in the 1950s when the property was let to the town clerk's secretary Jessica Bearpark. She lived there until her death in 2006, age 93. The lack of modern amenities didn't bother Jessica or her mother, who lived to 103, in what seems like an incredible timewarp.
The property, advertised for 250,000 for a 125-year lease, attracted the interest of more than 620 potential buyers from all over the country and was sold to a philanthropic Yorkshire businessman as a holiday home for his staff. It is one of a number of unusual properties he has collected over the years.
Designed around a central stairwell, the ground floor is thought to have been offices for the spa and was wet with damp.
The windows were boarded up and the space used as storage except for a rudimentary bathroom.
Upstairs, the main living accommodation included three bedrooms, a sitting room, conservatory and kitchen.
It was gently decaying and the roof needed fixing, there were settlement problems and no central heating, but it had some incredible features including the original timber windows, ornate fireplaces, elaborate wooden fretwork around the internal windows and doors and an abundance of antique mirrors.
The mirrors have survived 150-plus years without a crack and they are everywhere – in the internal doors, in fireplace over mantels and, most impressively, covering almost entire walls in the upstairs hallway and at the top of the stairs.
"Like a lot of people in Scarborough, I knew the chalet but I'd never been in and when I did I was thrilled to see so much had been preserved, says Belinda Denton, one half of Denton and Denton architects. "The mirrors are very unusual, and I imagine they were installed as part of the original design to bring light into dark areas."
She and husband Barry designed the new-look chalet that now boasts five en-suite bedrooms, while builders Swalwell and Geraghty, of West Ayton, carried out the work.
The ground floor, which was tanked to combat the damp, was turned into three en-suite bedrooms. The top of the stairs was dark despite the mirror, so the Dentons had a roof light installed.
The first floor now has two en-suite bedrooms and the original sitting room, while the conservatory and kitchen were combined to make an open-plan dining kitchen with breathtaking floor to ceiling views out towards Filey Brigg and the harbour.
Belinda says: "It was an amazing house but it didn't work for now and the ground floor was just a maze of damp unuseable rooms. Now it works and it looks amazing. It feels like a beach chalet."
After a nine-month renovation thought to have cost between 150,000 and 200,000, it has all mod cons wrapped in a vintage-style interior dcor – a glamorous and feminine scheme created by the owner's wife and her friend.
The finishing touch for the Spa Chalet was a new coat of paint for the original seasoned timber cladding that is still going strong. The brash bright royal blue is now a soft powder blue that blends beautifully with the grey North Sea.
For all its exterior charm and inner loveliness, it is the natural surroundings that make this chalet special.
"It's a wonderful building, but the best bit about it is the location," says Belinda Denton.
"The views are absolutely stunning."
Denton and Denton, Scarborough. Tel: 01723 361310.
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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