A FORMER 1820’s pub has scooped architectural awards after it was transformed into a luxurious £900,000 family home.
The historic boozer in Little Abington, Cambs formally known as The Princess of Wales has been given a new lease of life and been lovingly renamed Princess Cottage.
The Princess of Wales pub was built in 1820 and served tipples for 150 years before it was converted into the impressive home.
It was possibly named after Princess Alexandra of Wales, the wife of the future King Edward VII then changed to the Prince of Wales.
The Grade II listed property won several awards for the latest conversion – living up to its royal name.
The conversion project won a RIBA Spirit of Ingenuity Heritage Award in 2004.
In a nod to the building’s history, outside, the original pub sign bracket now supports a lantern.
The sitting room also has the pub’s original fire surround and is half panelled.
A large trap-door leads down to the building’s original cellar and there is also a snug, a utility room and a boot room and cloakroom.
The cottage has a vaulted kitchen and steel ladder which leads up to a mezzanine level.
OLD AND NEW
Upstairs, there is a master suite, three more bedrooms and a family bathroom.
Outside there is a private walled garden and a former cart store, which has been converted into a home office.
Martyn Walshe, of Cheffins estate agents, who are selling the property, said: “It really is a stunning combination of old and new with everything you’d want, really.
“It belongs to the architect who designed the extensions and who has lived there with his wife for several years before deciding to leave.
“The family are going because he’s designed some brand-new houses which are going to be built in the village and has the desire to live in a new home that he’s designed himself.
“The house would be ideal for a couple who were downsizing, it’s got all the accommodation you’d ever need as well as a very manageable garden.”
However, he also believes the property might suit a family who were escaping London or a lockdown in a city but who needed a home office.
