Our House: Swish family Robinson’s home has perfect views

Aug 4 2009 Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Our House: Swish family Robinson’s home has perfect views

The Robinson family’s say their village home in Shelley is idyllic

WHEN the Robinson family relocated from their East Riding home they were looking for somewhere more rural than they had lived in before.

Neil and Polly – together with six-year-old son, Robert – had a village location at the top of their shopping list.

But what really sold their new Shelley home to them was the brilliant views.

Neil, who works in IT, said: “We were looking for something a bit different, a rural property in a village location.

“As soon as we saw this house that was it, we knew it was the home for us.

“And the views were just the most fantastic we had seen – probably the best in West Yorkshire!

“From our home you can see across Denby Dale over the tops of the windmills down towards Sheffield.

“The steam railway that runs out of Clayton West goes right across the bottom of the valley and you can hear it whistling in the morning, which is very sweet.”

Neil and Polly, who works for Nationwide building society, were instantly impressed by the stunning views.

And the fact that the property was a little piece of the village’s history was another bonus.

The house was named The Old Drapers, because it originally formed part of the old Victorian Co-op which once stood there.

The shops served as flats for a while before the owner decided to restore them and convert them into homes.

Neil said: “I believe the buildings were originally built in the 1850s – they were there originally for the Co-op and then converted into four houses.

“I think one was once the bakers and ours was the drapers, hence where it got its name.

“The old beams have big nails in them and we would like to think they once hung the drapes from them!

“After the Co-op closed down they were converted into a number of flats in the 1960s. They were a bit run down when the previous owner decided to turn them back into homes a few years ago.”

Neil says the owner ploughed a fair amount of cash into breathing new life into the homes and getting the slick high-spec finish just right.