Our House: Linthwaite cottage was Sophie Iredale’s dream development

Jan 19 2010 by Emma Davison, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

SOPHIE Iredale grew up surrounded by property development so was well prepared when she ventured into that world herself.

Calderdale-born Sophie’s parents made a living renovating properties and she spent her childhood moving around, living in caravans between projects.

Sophie dabbled in development herself and worked on some small projects over the years.

But it was when she came to look for her own home with partner Daniel Bray that Sophie was met with her biggest challenge so far.

She and her Meltham-born partner started looking for the ideal base and were drawn to the Linthwaite area.

Sophie said: “I used to live on farms when I was younger so wanted something with quite a rural feel.

“We didn’t know anything about the village but it seemed ideal. The area we looked at had a lovely, quiet and relaxing feel to it.”

The couple fell for the charms of an 1850s built cottage, originally the old vicarage which once also served as the village doctor’s house.

Sophie instantly loved the cottage’s host of original features and that it offered her a project to get her teeth into.

She added: “I loved the house but knew I was taking a gamble because it needed to be completely ripped out and taken back to the original stone.

“It was the first big project for me and there were times I thought I would never finish it, but I just threw myself into the work and got on with it.”

The biggest challenge Sophie and her team of workers faced was peeling the house’s years of layers away so they could start building it back up again.

“It was a big challenge just ripping everything out,’’ she said. “All the walls were covered with the original horse hair plaster which was really thick and difficult to remove.

“But taking a jackhammer to it really did the trick and I got really involved doing this – as well as finding a new skill I found it quite therapeutic!”

During the project Sophie was delighted to uncover several features that had been hidden behind decades of decor.